DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Carer’s Allowance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many (a) members and (b) former members of the armed forces have had their carer's allowance reduced since May 2010;
	(2)  how many injured (a) members and (b) former members of the armed forces have been affected by recent changes to carer's allowance.

Mark Francois: No serving armed forces personnel in receipt of carer's allowance are evident from MOD records. We hold no records relating to changes in carer's allowance or in relation to former service personnel who may be in receipt of the allowance.
	All injured personnel would be signposted towards their various entitlements during their recovery phase by the service welfare system.

Armed Forces: Compensation

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the total amount of compensation paid out under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme was in each year since 2005-06 to date;
	(2)  how many Armed Forces Compensation Scheme applications were approved in each year since 2005-06 to date;
	(3)  how many Armed Forces Compensation Scheme applications have been made in each year since 2005-06 to date.

Mark Francois: The number of Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) applications made and awarded in each financial year since 2005-06 is shown in the following table. This also provides the total amount of compensation paid under the scheme for the same period. The data include claims made by serving or former service personnel and surviving dependants.
	
		
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Number of claims 365 1,660 3,540 5,125 6,180 7,335 8,815 4,215 
			 Total amount paid (£ million) 1.274 6.158 13.067 33.490 34.183 59.515 141.477 51.400 
			 Number of claims awarded 85 615 1,320 2,060 2,930 3,940 3,970 1,565 
			 Notes: 1. Includes data up to 30 September 2012. 2. The total cost figures for FY 2012-13 include payments up to 31 December 2012. 3. Figures provided for claims made and awarded in FY 2010-11 to FY 2012-13 are provisional. Some claims do not yet have an outcome, and may become spanning cases subsequently i.e. any injuries/illnesses that have occurred before 6 April 2005 are considered under the War Pension Scheme. 4. The large increase in payments during FY 2011-12 is due to additional payments made as a result of implementing the recommendations of Lord Boyce’s review into the AFCS. 5. Figures have been rounded where appropriate.

Armed Forces: Credit Unions

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to supporting a credit union scheme for armed forces personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: holding answer 4 February 2013
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has explored a number of possibilities to improve the access of armed forces personnel to financial services and has considered the concept of a credit union or an armed forces bank. The current view is that a credit union is likely to be too restrictive in how it might operate and what it can provide.
	The MOD has undertaken other work to address concerns about access to credit and mortgages for service personnel and ways of improving financial awareness and capability. Working with representative bodies from the financial sector, charities and other organisations there is a commitment from the financial sector to raise awareness within their membership of the unique nature of life in the armed forces. When considering lending in any form to service personnel the principle followed will be that those who serve with the armed forces should not be disadvantaged because of their occupation.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  by which legal process he proposes to make changes to the prerogative instruments under which the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75 was set up;
	(2)  if he will place copies of all correspondence and e-mails relating to the proposals to amend the royal prerogative instruments governing Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75 in order that the scheme can be closed in 2015 with all members compulsory migrated to AFPS 2015, including any relevant correspondence with the Royal Household or Privy Council;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence and e-mails relating to the proposals to amend the prerogative instruments governing the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) 75 in order that the scheme can be closed in 2015 with all members compulsory migrated to AFPS 2015.

Andrew Murrison: The Public Service Pensions Bill is currently passing through Parliament. It sets out the new arrangements for the creation of schemes for the payment of pensions and other benefits. It also protects the benefits already earned by members of existing public service pension schemes and allows continued membership of those schemes for certain categories of people who are closest to retirement. The provisions of this Bill, once enacted, will bind any existing law, including the prerogative instruments. In particular, clause 3 of the Bill permits scheme regulations made under clause 1 to amend, in certain circumstances, other legislation, and clause 18(8) explicitly allows transitional measures to be made by amending the existing schemes.
	We will not place the requested correspondence and e-mails in the Library of the House because they relate to internal discussions and the formulation of policy. However, any amendments to the current legislation will be laid before Parliament with copies placed in the Library of the House.

Defence: Research

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will commit to increased spending on defence science and technology, and research and development.

Philip Dunne: The National Security Through Technology White Paper (Cmd 8278) already states that it is our intention to sustain investment in the Science and Technology Programme at a minimum of 1.2% of the defence budget, with a small rise in cash terms over the period of the comprehensive spending review.
	There is no centralised budget for research and development because development expenditure is applied as needed against requirements of individual equipment programmes. Our equipment plan for the next 10 years is contained in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012, published on 31 January 2013 and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-equipment-plan-2012

Explosives

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which the use of explosive weapons in populated areas causes ongoing civilian harm; if he will make it his policy to work towards ending the use of such heavy explosive weapons in civilian areas; what his policy is on the recording of civilian casualties of war, the identities of those killed and the means by which they were killed; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The use of lethal force in populated areas, as elsewhere, is governed by the Law of Armed Conflict. Ministry of Defence policy on this is entirely consistent with our obligations under international law and we will continue to operate within the constraints of such law, namely: distinction, discrimination, proportionality and necessity. Additionally, prior to carrying out any pre-planned attack, whether near a civilian area or not, a Collateral Damage Estimate must be completed in order to determine whether our actions are likely to cause civilian casualties.
	The decision to use explosive weapons in any theatre of operations will be dependent upon the context of that particular operation. It would not be reasonable to deny our armed forces the option of using the most appropriate weapon to engage legitimate military targets, which may be in close proximity to civilian areas. I am satisfied that our strict compliance with our obligations under the Law of Armed Conflict, alongside our extensive procedures aimed at minimising harm to civilians, provides appropriate protection to civilians.
	In any operational environment, following any attack we will assess and, where possible, record the number of casualties, whether these are civilian or military casualties, as accurately as practicable. This is not always possible and is dependent upon the context of the operation. The Ministry of Defence does not, as a matter of course, monitor overall military or civilian casualty figures, although if our actions are thought to have caused civilian casualties we will investigate to ensure that our actions were legally and morally justifiable and to ensure that we learn the right lessons.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the decision-making process that surrounded the decision to change the Department's order for joint strike fighters and the reversal of the decision is improved.

Philip Dunne: This Government will not blindly pursue projects, ignoring new information about defence equipment acquisitions. The policy decision taken in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review to purchase the carrier variant of the joint strike fighter was right, based on the information available at the time. More detailed technical work subsequently revealed that the costs and risks would be greater, and delivery timescale for a converted carrier longer than previously anticipated. In light of that assessment we took the decision to revert to the short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the joint strike fighter. This is an example of the Government being prepared to make difficult decisions, and represents a clear break from the past in the way the MOD now conducts its business.

Mali

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated cost of the UK's support for military intervention in Mali is (a) in March 2013, (b) for the quarter, (c) for the year and (d) for the duration of the UK's involvement.

Andrew Robathan: This is an emerging operation and the cost estimates are currently being compiled. They will be available in due course.

Mali

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the cost of the UK's support for military intervention in Mali has come from his Department.

Andrew Robathan: Discussions are ongoing with other Government Departments to determine the most appropriate source of funding for this operation.

Military Aid

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what partnerships are in place to train the armed forces of other nations in the UK.

Andrew Murrison: We have a broad range of defence relationships including formal alliances, defence co-operation treaties and a range of memoranda of understanding. Many of these encompass the provision of training for foreign service personnel in the UK. Training ranges from large-scale NATO exercises conducted in and around the UK, to the attendance of individual service personnel at courses run by the Defence Academy and other service training establishments.

NATO

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what requirements NATO places on the location of Quick Reaction Alert I assets within the UK under the UK's responsibilities for NATO Air Policing Area One;
	(2)  whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) his officials have (i) met and (ii) consulted NATO on (A) his proposed basing review and (B) the proposed relocation of the Typhoon force from RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth.

Andrew Robathan: We declare to NATO our available air policing assets and details of their locations. NATO places no requirement on the UK to locate these assets in specific locations.
	There have been no formal discussions with NATO about the ongoing basing review or the move of the Typhoon force from RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth. Any changes to the location of our declared air policing assets will be communicated to NATO commanders through the mechanisms already in place.

North Africa

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the amount his Department will spend on current military operations in North Africa.

Andrew Robathan: This is an emerging operation and the cost estimates are currently being compiled. They will be available in due course.

Nuclear Weapons

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected annual running cost of a renewed nuclear deterrent would be.

Philip Dunne: As stated in the White Paper, “The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent” (Cm 6994) published in December 2006, we expect that once the new fleet of submarines comes into service, the in-service costs of the UK's nuclear deterrent, which will include the Atomic Weapons Establishment's costs, will be similar to today’s (around 5-6% of the defence budget).

RAF Lossiemouth

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Moray of 28 January 2013, Official Report, column 569W, on RAF Lossiemouth, what items of mission-specific infrastructure have been (a) committed for installation and (b) installed at RAF Lossiemouth to date; and how much each such item has cost.

Andrew Robathan: Mission-specific infrastructure committed for installation at RAF Lossiemouth and its expected cost is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Including VAT (£ million) 
			 Infrastructure project Total expected cost Spend to date 
			 Refurbishment of Hangar 1 (internal/external) and accommodation, and Hangar 3 internal works 7.183 0.907 
			 Typhoon Ground Support Systems (IT and Comms) 2.637 0.362

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his American counterpart on drone attacks in Yemen.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 364W.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times his Department has shared information with its US counterpart to assist with the targeting of drone strikes in Yemen in the last 12 months.

Andrew Robathan: It has been the long-standing policy of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Yemen on the training of Yemeni soldiers in that country.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Defence met President Hadi on 24 September 2012 in London during which Defence support to the Yemeni armed forces was discussed in broad terms.
	As part of his routine engagement the Defence Attaché in Sana'a has regular meetings with members of the Yemeni Armed and Security Forces during which training of the Yemeni Army will be discussed.
	We are not currently providing any training to the Yemeni Army in Yemen although a small number of Yemeni officers continue to attend professional development courses in the UK.

TREASURY

Charities: Publicity

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on what dates and at which venues roadshows have been organised to publicise the provisions of the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to publicise the opportunities afforded to charities by the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012;
	(3)  whether his Department provides support to hon. Members who wish to organise events in their constituencies to publicise the opportunities for local charities arising from the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be writing to all charities that have made a Gift Aid repayment in the last three years to inform them about the new Gift Aid Small Donations scheme. Over 100,000 charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs will receive a letter over the next few weeks.
	HMRC will shortly be publishing guidance on using the new scheme.
	HMRC operates a Charities Outreach team who engage with charities on all matters relating to their tax affairs, and this will include the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme. Hon. Members who wish to take advantage of this should contact HMRC Charities—contact details are on the HMRC website.

Credit Unions: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the legislative consent motion applying the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to credit unions in Northern Ireland was agreed to by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Sajid Javid: Northern Ireland credit unions were previously exempt from the Financial Services and Markets Act as deposit takers. This was revoked under the FSMA 2000 (Exemption) Order 2011 no. 2716. This did not have to be formally agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive, as financial services are not a devolved issue.
	The Exemption Order came into effect on 31 March 2012 with the transfer of regulation to the Financial Services Authority. This means that depositors in Northern Ireland credit unions are now protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, in the same way as depositors in the rest of the UK.

Crossrail Line

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Barnett consequentials have been awarded to the Welsh Government as a result of expenditure on Crossrail.

Danny Alexander: Allocations for Crossrail were determined in the 2010 spending review. The Welsh Government received Barnett consequentials on the changes to the Department for Transport budget in the normal way as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. No further allocations have been subsequently made for this project.

Cybercrime: Financial Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will take steps to produce guidance on cyber security for the financial services sector;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of cyber security in financial services.

Greg Clark: The Treasury is working closely with the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority, as well as with other Government Departments and agencies, to ensure that cyber risks are better understood and to promote cyber security in the finance sector. This includes a benchmarking programme, led by the FSA, to identify cyber and technology practices of 30 major financial institutions which, once concluded, will result in the publication of an updated Business Continuity Management Practice Guide and discussion paper so that all firms in the sector can learn from the exercise. This will be in addition to exercises with the sector (including the 2011 market-wide exercise) to rehearse and enhance response arrangements to cyber threats.

Excise Duties: Tobacco

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent consideration his Department has given to using secure marking and track and trace systems to protect excise duty revenue on tobacco packets following the Department of Health's consultation on the introduction of standardised packaging.

Sajid Javid: Nearly all cigarettes packs and hand-rolling tobacco pouches bearing the UK fiscal mark incorporate covert secure markings to protect excise duty. These markings enable enforcement officers to authenticate whether the tobacco products are genuine or counterfeit. The introduction of standardised packaging would not affect these controls.
	The Government's strategy for tackling tobacco smuggling was published in 2011. It demonstrates that the biggest risks are from counterfeit and illicit white cigarettes, manufactured overseas exclusively for the illicit market. The introduction of track and trace systems in the UK would not address these risks. We will continue to keep tracking and tracing systems under review as the risks from the illicit trade change, and we work towards signing the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control illicit trade protocol.

Income Tax: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many residents in (a) North Swindon constituency and (b) the borough of Swindon have been taken out of income tax as a result of the raising of the personal allowance since May 2010;
	(2)  how many residents in (a) North Swindon constituency and (b) the borough of Swindon have seen their income tax liability reduced as a result of the raising of the personal allowance since May 2010.

David Gauke: By April 2013, the cumulative effect of the Government's increases in the personal allowance since 2010-11 will have taken 2.2 million people out of the income tax system while over 25 million individuals will have seen their income tax liability reduced.
	These estimates are based on the 2009-10 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2013-14 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's autumn 2012 economic and fiscal outlook.
	Reliable estimates are not available at parliamentary constituency level due to greater uncertainties in making projections for small geographical areas.

Research

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what external social and economic research and analysis his Department commissioned in each year between 1997 and 2010; what the (a) project name, (b) research organisation and (c) value was of that research; and if he will place the findings of any such research in the Library.

Sajid Javid: Reviews and research commissioned by HM Treasury are available on the Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_ reviews_index.htm
	Research activities funded by HMRC are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/activities.htm

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he intends to introduce variable rates of stamp duty land tax to reflect the energy efficiency of properties.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 309W.

Taxation

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered repealing section 58 of the Finance Act 2008 on the backdating of tax law.

David Gauke: There are no plans to amend section 58(4) of the Finance Act 2008.

Taxation: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount allocated to Northern Ireland from the annual revenue collections in each year from 2005-06 to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: Total identifiable expenditure on services for Northern Ireland can be found in the following table. Data for earlier years are not available on a consistent basis.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2007-08 16,778 
			 2008-09 17,807 
			 2009-10 18,860 
			 2010-11 19,001 
			 2011-12 19,273

Welfare Tax Credits: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many (a) people, (b) working people and (c) families in Dudley North constituency are in receipt of tax credits;
	(2)  how many people in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands, (c) Dudley Borough and (d) Dudley North constituency receive working tax credit; and what the average weekly payment is in each case;
	(3)  how many people in Dudley North constituency are in receipt of working tax credit; and how many people in Dudley North constituency (a) in full-time work, (b) in part-time work and (c) not in paid employment are in receipt of child tax credits.

Sajid Javid: HMRC publishes national statistics on tax credits. The latest snapshot as at 1 December is available at a geographic level here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/prov-geog-stats/cwtc-geog-dec12.xls
	As at 1 December 2012, there were:
	(a) 10,800 adults,
	(b) 5,600 adults in families classed as in work for tax credits purposes and working at least 16 hours per week, and,
	(c) 7,100 families
	in receipt of tax credits in Dudley North constituency.
	The number of families receiving working tax credit as at 1 December 2012, and their average weekly tax credit entitlement based on their circumstances as reported at this date, can be found in Table 1 following:
	
		
			 Table 1: Families receiving working tax credit 
			 Geographic Area Number (thousand) Average weekly tax credit entitlement (£) 
			 England 1,967.8 140 
			 West Midlands 229.6 140 
			 Dudley Borough 11.8 145 
			 Dudley North Constituency 3.4 145 
		
	
	There will be a further group of families who are not in receipt of working tax credit as their award has been tapered away, but who benefit from a higher award as they are eligible for it. This group will have a lower average entitlement.
	There is no standard definition of full- and part-time work; these have been defined to be consistent with tax credits hours thresholds. Of those adults in families in receipt of child tax credit as at 1 December 2012:
	(a) 2,900 reported working at least 30 hours and were in families eligible for working tax credit,
	(b) 1,800 reported working at least 16 hours but less than 30 hours and were in families eligible for working tax credit,
	(c) 4,900 were either in families out-of-work for tax credits purposes or in work for fewer than 16 hours and in families eligible for working tax credit.
	The figures in this answer do not take into account a small number of out-of-work families for whom an amount equivalent to tax credits is provided through DWP benefits.

Working Tax Credit: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Liverpool, Walton constituency he expects to be in receipt of working tax credits on 1 May 2013; and what the average amount of working tax credits per household is expected to be.

Sajid Javid: Forecasts of tax credits recipients and expenditure are not produced at constituency level.

Working Tax Credit: Self-employed

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department takes to check that applicants for working tax credit claiming to be self-employed are in fact working for the required number of hours.

Sajid Javid: HMRC carries out a number of risk-based checks including on cases where notified income is low in respect of self employed claimants because this can be an indicator that the required hours are not being worked.
	HMRC has also made checks on cases where the customer reported a change to their hours directly following changes made to entitlement conditions.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bristol East of 14 January 2013, Official Report, column 481W, on biofuels, what estimate he has made of the expected (a) minimum and (b) maximum volume of palm oil imported for bioliquid-fuelled power stations; what comparative assessment he has made of the merits of the policy approach pursued by the German and Netherlands Governments of removing subsidies from all bioliquids for power generation in order to prevent the use of unsustainable biofuels for power generation; what consideration he has given to the effect of public subsidies being provided to palm-oil burning power stations on public confidence in his Department’s policies and systems on sustainable bioenergy; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: To date, the vast majority of bioliquids used to generate electricity under the renewables obligation (RO) have been derived from wastes or residues. These can be highly sustainable and generate useful renewable energy, and we consider it is right to continue to support electricity generated using these fuels under the RO. The RO includes sustainability criteria that bioliquids must meet in order to be eligible for support. The UK will continue to support measures to improve the sustainability criteria at a European level.
	In July 2012, we published the Government response to the RO banding review consultation explaining the decisions reached on support for electricity generated from bioliquids. The Government response was accompanied by an impact assessment of the RO banding decisions.
	(a) The minimum volume of palm oil that might be used to generate electricity supported by the RO would be zero.
	(b) We are introducing a 4% cap on the proportion of their renewables obligation that electricity suppliers can meet using certificates issued for electricity generated from bioliquids (with exceptions for CHP stations below 1 MW, energy from waste with CHP, advanced conversion fuels and microgenerators). The bioliquids cap equates to approximately 2 TWh of bioliquid electricity generation in 2017. The modelling for the impact assessment accompanying the Government response to the RO banding review showed that the support levels set for April 2013 onwards are not expected to bring on additional new deployment of bioliquid electricity generation, however, this is uncertain and there could be a small amount of new deployment of low cost bioliquid generation.
	No assessment has been made of the policy approach pursued by Germany and the Netherlands.

Biofuels

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what average period elapsed between receipt of an application for commercial biomass installations and the first payment of subsidy in respect of the installation in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The RHI scheme pays quarterly in arrears. Participants have to send Ofgem their heat generation data in a window which begins 13 weeks after the “date of accreditation” (the date a complete submission of an application is made for a valid installation) and closes one month later.
	Ofgem aims to make payments within six weeks of receiving correct heat data. Ofgem data show that for commercial biomass installations the average time from the receipt of a complete submission of an application for a valid installation to receipt of payment by the recipient is 21.6 weeks for the scheme to date. This figure has reduced to 20.3 weeks in this financial year.

Biofuels

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what analysis he undertook when setting the proposed cap on subsidies for electricity biofuels; and if he has any plans to lower this cap;
	(2)  whether he plans to remove public subsidies for the use of bioliquids;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect of burning bioliquid fuels on the release of greenhouse gases.

John Hayes: To date, the vast majority of bioliquids used in the renewables obligation have been derived from wastes or residues. These can be highly sustainable and generate useful renewable energy. We wish to continue to support electricity generated using these fuels under the renewables obligation, and so for this reason do not intend to remove public subsidy under the RO for bioliquids. The bioliquids cap and sustainability criteria serve to minimise any potential risk from supporting electricity generated from bioliquids which have the potential to cause harm to the environment.
	The analysis undertaken for the bioliquids cap, and the impact of the renewables obligation on greenhouse gas emissions is set out in the renewables obligation banding review impact assessment. We are not considering lowering the cap at this time.
	From 1 April 2013, all electricity generated from bioliquids which receives support under the renewables obligation must demonstrate that it has met the mandatory sustainability criteria. These include a minimum greenhouse gas emission saving of 35% that applies to all electricity generation derived from bioliquids, rising to a minimum emission saving of 50% in 2017. From 1 January 2018, the minimum emission saving is increased to at least 60% for bioliquids produced in installations in which production started on or after 1 January 2017.
	The UK will continue to support measures to improve the sustainability criteria at a European level.

Biofuels

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will review his policy of subsidy to biomass following the National Environment Research Council's report on the Atmospheric Lifetime of Black Carbon.

Gregory Barker: As the report highlights,
	“The uncertainties in net climate forcing from black-carbon-rich sources are substantial, largely due to lack of knowledge about cloud interactions”.
	Abatement measures are currently in place to control the impacts of the production of electricity from bioenergy on air quality. Any energy plant over 20 megawatt capacity is subject to pollution control regulation.
	There are currently no emission performance standards for biomass boilers of under 20 MWth. In July 2012 DECC consulted on mandatory restrictions on emissions from burning biomass for installations of <20 MWth accredited in the non-domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI). We proposed that the maximum permitted emissions limits are 30 grams per gigajoule (g/GJ) net thermal input for PM and 150 g/GJ for NOx. In the consultation we proposed that we would implement these restrictions between November 2012 and March 2013, dependent upon the timing of parliamentary debates.
	DECC consulted on proposals for a domestic RHI in autumn 2012. We proposed that air quality restrictions for biomass installations supported in this scheme would be the same as those for the non-domestic scheme.

Carbon Emissions: Industry

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential risk of carbon leakage from domestic energy-intensive industries over the next 20 years; and what plans there are to protect the long-term competitiveness of domestic energy-intensive industries to prevent carbon leakage.

Gregory Barker: Published research(1 )suggests that the risk of carbon leakage(2) through UK industries moving to third countries as a result of increased costs of carbon in the EU is limited to a small number of sectors. The Government are keen to ensure that UK industry is competitive and we continue to monitor and evaluate the risk of carbon leakage. The Department has recently commissioned a research project that will report later this year
	(3)
	.
	The best way to address carbon leakage is a legally binding international climate agreement. In the interim, under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) industrial sectors at significant risk of carbon leakage receive an increased allocation of free allowances. Alongside this the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced, in the 2011 autumn statement, a £250 million package of measures for electro-intensive industries to address the indirect costs of the EU ETS and carbon price floor, and to increase the rate of relief from the climate change levy for electricity to 90% for those sectors which have signed up to UK climate change agreements. The Government are currently considering the responses to the consultation exercise on the detail of this relief package which closed in December.
	The Government are also seeking to exempt energy intensive industries from the costs of electricity market reform policies where this significantly impacts on their international competitiveness, subject to state aid rules.
	(1) Climate Strategies (UK) Reports (2007-09) on: Tackling Leakage in a world of unequal carbon prices:
	http://www.climatestrategies.org/research/our-reports/category/32.html
	Hourcade et al (2007) Differentiation and Dynamics of EU ETS Industrial Competitiveness Impacts, Climate Strategies:
	http://www.climatestrategies.org/research/our-reports/category/6/37.html
	Oko-Institut (Germany), Fraunhofer ISI, DIW (September 2008) Impacts of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on the industrial competitiveness in Germany:
	http://www.umweltdaten.de/publikationen/fpdf-l/3625.pdf
	DECC commissioned Cambridge Econometrics report 2010:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/What%20we%20do/Global%20climate%20change%20and%20energy/Tackling%20Climate%20Change/Emissions%20Trading/eu_ets/news/471-carbon-leakage-ce-report.pdf
	(2) Carbon leakage is the prospect of an increase in global greenhouse gas emissions when a company shifts production outside a country because it cannot pass on the cost increases induced by climate change policies to its customers without significant loss of market share.
	(3)https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&NoticeId=826481

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the fitting of carbon monoxide alarms in domestic properties where heating or energy efficiency systems are installed as part of the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 7 February 2013
	The Green Deal Code of Practice clearly states that:
	“A Green Deal Provider must consider whether installation or checking of carbon monoxide monitors at the property is necessary, and, if so, include this in the specification provided to the Green Deal Installer.”

Electricity Interconnectors: Hebrides

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost breakdown of installing an electric interconnector to the Hebrides.

John Hayes: The Department makes no estimate of the cost of such projects. The cost of the transmission link to the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides is a matter for Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHE Transmission) and the independent regulator, Ofgem. The latest publicly available estimate of costs for the project, published by SHE Transmission in November 2012, is at least £775 million. Details are available at:
	http://www.sse.com/uploadedFiles/Controls/Lists/Press_releases/Press_releases/2012/Nr-12458.pdf

Energy Companies Obligation

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the Government expect energy companies to be ready to take on the energy company obligation.

Gregory Barker: The energy company obligation (ECO) formally commenced on 1 January 2013, although energy suppliers are also able to count any ECO eligible measures installed since October 2012 towards their final obligation target.
	There is strong evidence that energy companies have already started to deliver against their ECO targets, with a number of ECO offers available in the market place and partnerships already agreed between energy companies and local authorities—including in Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds. The Government's Energy Savings Advice Service has referred over 2,300 pre-verified Affordable-Warmth customers to energy companies, and over £9 million's worth of ECO measures have been bought and sold on the new ECO brokerage platform.

Fuel Poverty

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what date the Government’s new strategy on fuel poverty will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: We intend to launch a revised fuel poverty strategy in the summer of this year.

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Halifax of 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 1038, on fuel poverty, what estimate his Department has made of the total monetary value of Government policies designed to tackle fuel poverty in (a) the current financial year and (b) each of the previous 10 years.

Gregory Barker: The coalition Government have a range of policies to address the factors that contribute to fuel poverty including energy efficiency and bill rebate schemes. In addition, the Government provide winter fuel payments and cold weather payments.
	The annual budget for Warm Front is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Warm Front expenditure (£ million) 
			 2002-03 163 
			 2003-04 152 
			 2004-05 165 
			 2005-06 190 
			 2006-07 315 
			 2007-08 350 
			 2008-09 395 
			 2009-10 369 
			 2010-11 366 
			 2011-12 108.6 
			 2012-13 100 
		
	
	The figure for 2012-13 represents the current fuel poverty capital budget, as opposed to expenditure. It is anticipated that spending on Warm Front applications made in 2012-13 could amount to some £70 million. To ensure the full budget for 2012-13 is spent on tackling fuel poverty we have launched a £30 million competition for local authorities to install efficient central heating systems and insulation in the homes of vulnerable local residents.
	It is not possible to provide the costs of delivering a number of other energy efficiency policies because energy companies have not been required to report the information that is needed for such costs to be calculated. Through the energy company obligation (ECO) Order 2012, however, Government have for the first time made provision to require energy suppliers to supply data to help provide evidence about the costs of delivering this scheme.
	It is expected that the costs of ECO will be broadly equivalent to the total cost of previous supplier obligations, namely the carbon emissions reduction target (CERT) and the community energy saving programme (CESP) combined.
	The majority of CERT and CESP costs fell on CERT which delivered a minimum of 18% of their overall priority group carbon saving obligation to the most vulnerable consumers (the super priority group). A minimum of around 40% of the cost of delivering ECO will provide assistance to low income households through affordable warmth and the carbon savings community obligation. This is estimated at some £540 million per year.
	Spending on policies to tackle fuel poverty through bill rebates, namely warm home discount and the predecessor voluntary agreements, has increased year-on-year over the last four years from some £100 million in 2008-09 to an estimated £288 million in 2012-13. Such spending, which this year will support over 2 million households, both alleviates fuel poverty and addresses the potential negative distributional impact of increases in energy prices.
	Historic data on spending on winter fuel payments can be found at the Department for Work and Pensions website:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php? page=medium_term
	The following table shows spending on cold weather payments since 2002-03. Payments are now permanently £25 per week, compared to £8 per week for the period. The figure provided for 2012-13 is an estimate relating to the period to 1 February 2013. As set out in Commons Library Standard Note (SN06074) the payment is a fixed amount for each week of cold weather. For many years this was set at £8.50 a week increased to £25 a week as a temporary measure in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The coalition Government have made the £25 rate permanent.
	
		
			  Cold weather payment expenditure (£ million) 
			 2002-03 14.2 
			 2003-04 3.5 
			 2004-05 1.8 
			 2005-06 8.4 
			 2006-07 3.4 
			 2007-08 4.0 
			 2008-09 210.4 
			 2009-10 296.7 
			 2010-11 430.8 
			 2011-12 129.2 
			 2012-13 127.9

Green Deal Scheme

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department plans to take to increase the number of people using the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: The Department launched the Green Deal on 28 January and continues to play a significant role in helping this new market to develop.
	We have committed £22 million to support “Go Early” Green Deal activity in eight English core cities and across 150 local authorities and launched our £125 million Green Deal cashback incentive on 14 January, alongside a £2.9 million communication campaign launched on 29 January aimed at building trust and understanding in the Green Deal, with a strong call to action for consumers to contact the Energy Saving Advice Service helpline (0300 123 1234) or to find out more via the web pages:
	www.gov.uk/greendeal

Nuclear Power Stations

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of Centrica's decision to withdraw from the new nuclear programme.

John Hayes: This Government are determined to make the UK a leading destination for investment in new nuclear by putting in place a framework to make this possible. Centrica's decision to withdraw reflects the company's investment priorities and is not a reflection on UK Government policy. We're continuing to see a high level of interest in the UK nuclear market, including from a diverse range of potential new entrants. We welcome EDF Energy's continued commitment to taking forward the Hinkley Point C project. Furthermore, the recent purchase of Horizon Nuclear Power by Hitachi is clear evidence of the attractiveness of the new nuclear market in the UK.

Renewable Energy

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on support for localised renewable energy projects.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 7 February 2013
	DECC provides support for local renewable electricity projects through the feed-in tariffs scheme (projects up to 5 MW installed capacity) and the renewables obligation. We support renewable heat projects in local communities through the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme.
	DECC is currently scoping a Community Energy Strategy and will publish a call for evidence in the spring. We are also currently evaluating 236 community energy projects covering energy efficiency, electricity and heat, supported by the £10 million Local Energy Assessment Fund.
	The Department and DEFRA are working closely together on the £15 million Rural Communities Renewable Energy Fund (England) due to be launched in the spring. Further details will be available shortly.
	Further information on loans in Scotland for the pre-planning stages of community projects is available at:
	http://www.communityenergyscotland.org.uk/cares_pre_planning_loan
	For further information on financial support available in Wales for community projects see:
	http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Organisations/Local-delivery/Free-resources-for-local-authorities/Local-authority-funding-guide/Funds/Local-Authorities/Welsh-Assembly-Government-Ynni-r-Fro-Programme

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Security

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department gives on the correct use of security gates at (a) airports and (b) Heathrow Terminal Five; and whether any such guidance recommends the closing of security gates 35 minutes before flight departure.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport does not give any such guidance. This is an operational matter for the airports and airlines concerned.

Bus Services: Disability

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of capacity for disabled people travelling aboard public buses.

Norman Baker: The Public Service Vehicles (Accessibility) Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) have provisions to make vehicles accessible for disabled people including low floor capability and priority seats. The deadlines for when all buses on local and scheduled services designed to carry more than 22 passengers must meet these requirements range from 2015 to 2020 depending on the type of vehicle. Until then, availability of accessible vehicles on any given service will vary depending on the make-up of the fleet and is principally a matter for bus operators.
	The most recent figures show that 71% of vehicles in England are PSVAR compliant (94% in London), and 88% of buses in England are low floor (99% in London). I will continue to monitor these figures as the deadlines approach.
	I recently published the Department for Transport's Accessibility Action Plan setting out the Department's priorities for improving access to transport, particularly for disabled people. This can be viewed on the .gov website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accessibility-action-plan

Crossrail Line: Stansted Airport

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with Network Rail and Transport for London on extending the proposed route for Crossrail 2 to Stansted airport; and what options his Department is considering to (a) increase rail capacity and (b) decrease rail journey times for commuters using Stansted airport.

Stephen Hammond: The Department is working with Network Rail and the rail industry on its long-term planning process which is considering future rail services to Stansted and other major airports.
	We have had no discussions with Network Rail or Transport for London about extending the proposed route of Crossrail 2 to Stansted airport.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents involving drivers using mobile phones have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The numbers of personal injury road accidents in Great Britain where the police officer attending the scene of the accident reported “Driver using mobile phone” as a contributory factor for last five years is:
	
		
			  Number of accidents 
			 2007 348 
			 2008 323 
			 2009 325 
			 2010 349 
			 2011 374 
		
	
	From 1 January 2005, information on contributory factors to road accidents has been collected by a police officer at the scene of the accident. A police officer may choose between one and six different factors that they felt contributed to the accident. Not all reported road accidents are included in the contributory factor analysis, only those where a police officer attended the scene and at least one contributory factor was reported.
	The contributory factors reflect the reporting officer's opinion at the time of reporting and are not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Moreover it is recognised that subsequent inquiries could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion. It is important to note where some factors may have contributed to the cause of an accident it may be difficult for a police officer attending the scene after the accident has occurred to identify these factors.

Driving Tests

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information is held on (a) the number of drivers who pass their driving test first time, (b) the gender of and (c) the age group of driving test applicants.

Stephen Hammond: The Driving Standards Agency publishes driving test data at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/series/driving-tests-and-instructors-statistics
	The number of drivers who passed their car practical driving test at the first attempt over the last two financial years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 336,356 
			 2011-12 332,700 
		
	
	The breakdown of car practical driving test applicants by gender and age group for financial year 2010-11 and 2011-12 is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Male 
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 17 204,831 187,514 
			 18 105,793 95,879 
			 19 57,802 53,797 
			 20 39,334 38,136 
			 21-25 144,338 141,201 
			 26-30 108,855 105,520 
			 31+ 152,537 153,605 
			 Total 813,490 775,652 
		
	
	
		
			 Female 
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 17 185,992 179,283 
			 18 118,488 107,332 
			 19 67,677 62,966 
			 20 45,865 45,575 
			 21-25 166,092 161,509 
			 26-30 119,731 117,033 
			 31+ 182,663 187,280 
			 Total 886,508 860,978

Driving: Licensing

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines his Department issues in respect of the technical image requirements for photographs for driving licences.

Stephen Hammond: A formal set of technical requirements is not yet published by the Department. Officials are working with industry experts to identify the optimal requirements moving forward. Guidelines are provided for customers on the application form, information leaflets and the internet. The photograph must be printed professionally and be 45 millimetres high by 35 millimetres wide. The individual's head should fill an area of between 29 millimetres and 34 millimetres.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has commissioned an environmental impact assessment to cover the noise footprint of the proposed High Speed 2 railway line; and when any such assessment will be published.

Simon Burns: At this early stage in the development of the Phase Two scheme, the noise appraisal has sought only to identify areas at relatively greater risk of experiencing noise impact. This will help determine the potential need for, and approximate location of, noise mitigation. With this mitigation included in the design, the noise model will be re-run for the preferred scheme to obtain a clearer early view on where noise impacts are likely to be. An environmental impact assessment for the scheme taking account of a wide range of environmental information is proposed to commence in 2015 and will be published in due course. Further details can be found in the Command Paper and Sustainability Summary documents published on 28 January and placed in the House Libraries.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with (i) local authorities along the route and (ii) the Local Government Association about proposed contributions by these bodies towards meeting the cost of High Speed 2.

Simon Burns: Department for Transport officials and Ministers have discussed, in broad terms, the potential for local and private sector contributions to HS2, in the context of wider discussions with local authorities serving areas that may benefit from new HS2 stations. There have been no specific discussions on this subject with the Local Government Association. Discussions about specific proposals for contributions are largely for the future. We do not intend to prejudice the outcome of discussions and negotiations that are yet to take place.

Lydd Airport

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a recommendation on the application that has been referred to his Department by the planning inspector regarding the proposed runway extension and new terminal facilities at Lydd airport.

Simon Burns: As my hon. Friend will be aware, these planning applications are before both the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles) and the Department for Transport. We do not set targets for the determination of planning cases such as this that involve two Departments. However, I can assure my hon. Friend that we are treating the case as a priority and that the Secretaries of State will issue their decision as quickly as they reasonably can.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles have been declared under a statutory off-road notification in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The following table provides the number of statutory off-road notifications that have been received during the last five years.
	
		
			  Number 
			 2012 (April to December only) 2,907,032 
			 2011-12 3,930,799 
			 2010-11 3,845,283 
			 2009-10 3,669,757 
			 2008-09 4,304,305

Motorways

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions he or his predecessors met staff of the Highways Agency to discuss managed motorways in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Stephen Hammond: Ministers meet with staff of the Highways Agency on a regular basis and discuss a range of issues.

Railways: Franchises

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to his statement of 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 60WS, on rail franchising, how a management-style contract for the operation of the combined Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise will differ from a normal franchise contract.

Simon Burns: The main differences between a traditional franchise and a management-style contract are the degrees of revenue risk that we expect the operator to bear. This also affects the degree of specification that would need to be included in the contract. In this case, a management-style contract will be suitable to support the introduction of new Thameslink infrastructure and rolling stock.

Railways: Franchises

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on the (a) Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise and (b) Essex Thameside franchise from the commencement of the franchising process until 31 January 2013.

Simon Burns: The Department has spent the following amounts:
	(a) Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern—£1,002,603;
	(b) Essex Thameside—£1,355,250.

Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to expand Robin Hood airport in Doncaster.

Simon Burns: Any proposals for development at Robin Hood airport Doncaster Sheffield would be a matter for the airport's operator, and would need to be judged on their individual merits, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, particularly economic and environmental impacts.

Severn River Crossing

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he anticipates the Severn bridges concession will end.

Stephen Hammond: The current concession with Severn River Crossing plc is a variable length concession that will end once a pre-agreed revenue target is met. The current estimation is that the revenue target will be met in 2018.
	When the concession period ends, the crossings will revert back to public ownership. The Severn Bridges Act 1992 allows for Government to continue tolling for up to a further five years to recover their own costs. These are costs that fall outside of the scope of the current concession including for professional advice, works associated with latent defects such as the main cable corrosion on the Severn bridge, and £4 million of the £126 million pre-concession debt from 1992. These amounts are reported each year in the Severn Bridge Act Accounts. As at 31 March 2012, the accumulated deficit was £112 million.

Transport: Finance

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much devolved transport funding will be available for (a) Greater Manchester local enterprise partnership, (b) South Yorkshire local enterprise partnership and (c) the Sheffield city region between 2015 and 2019.

Norman Baker: Funding for major local transport schemes is being devolved to Local Transport Bodies. The level of funding that they receive will be determined in the spending review period.
	On 23 January 2013 the Department provided all areas with indicative funding figures to use as planning assumptions when developing their investment priorities. In doing so it asked all areas to make contingency plans for the funding being up to one third higher or lower than the indicative figure. We provided an indicative figure of £65.4 million for Greater Manchester and £37.3 million for Sheffield City Region/South Yorkshire for the period from 2015 to 2019. Full details are available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69185/devolution-lmts-funding.pdf

Transport: Per Capita Costs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) national and (b) regional average that Government spent per head on transport in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was spent on transport per head in South Yorkshire.

Norman Baker: The most recent data available for total public expenditure on transport are given in HM Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses for 2011-12. Identifiable expenditure on transport per head in 2011-12 was (a) £292 for England and £315 for the whole of the UK and (b) £251 for Yorkshire and the Humber. Equivalent data are not available below regional level.

PRIME MINISTER

Arab States

George Galloway: To ask the Prime Minister which Arab leaders he has met since he became Prime Minister.

David Cameron: My international contacts include regular discussions with those in leadership positions in Arab League member states. I refer the hon. Member to the No. 10 website for further information.

Climate Change

Martin Horwood: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has during the UK’s chairmanship of the G8 in 2013 to follow up the commitment G8 leaders made in 2012 to support comprehensive action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants.

David Cameron: The UK remains committed to working with international partners to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, complementing UNFCCC efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The UK, alongside other G8 members, joined the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in 2012, and will continue to work with industry to reduce black carbon and methane emissions from oil and gas production, and carry out research to guide future CCAC action.

Collective Responsibility

Christopher Chope: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the arrangements are for informing Ministers of the setting aside of collective ministerial responsibility in respect of votes in the House;
	(2)  on how many occasions a formal Cabinet decision has been made to set aside collective ministerial responsibility in the last 12 months.

David Cameron: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to disclose information relating to internal discussions, information or forums in which decisions are made.

France

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister when he last spoke to the President of France.

David Cameron: At the EU Council on 8 February 2013.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

George Galloway: To ask the Prime Minister how much the Chilcot inquiry has cost since it was established; and what estimate he has made of its final cost.

David Cameron: Information for expenditure incurred by the Iraq inquiry from its establishment on 15 June 2009 to 31 March 2012 is available on the Iraq inquiry website.
	Information for expenditure for 2012-13 will be published by the inquiry after the end of the financial year.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Yemen in the next 12 months.

David Cameron: Details of my engagements are announced as and when appropriate.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Coal Fired Power Stations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many requests he has received from operators of existing coal-fired power stations for special exemptions from the enforcement of the large combustion plant directive; how many such requests have asked for (a) extra time to decide whether to opt in by retrofitting flue gas treatment equipment to control emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter and (b) permission for allowances to emit extra emissions; what response he has given to such requests; what recent discussions he has had with the Environment Agency about such requests; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has received no requests from operators of existing coal-fired power stations for special exemptions from the enforcement of the large combustion plant directive.
	Article 5(1) of the large combustion plant directive (2001/80/EC) allows plants with a rated thermal input greater than 400 megawatts, which were permitted prior to July 1987 and which operate for more than 2,000 hours annually, to be subject to an emission limit value for sulphur dioxide of 800 mg/m(3), rather than the 400 mg/m(3) which would otherwise apply.
	Requests for this derogation to be applied were made to and granted by the Environment Agency in respect of four plants within the period 1 January 2008 to 7 February 2009. These were to enable the completion of work to install the additional abatement equipment need to enable compliance with the lower limit. The Environment Agency has received no further requests since that time. There have therefore been no recent discussions.

Coastal Areas: Flood Control

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to protect coastal towns from potential flooding.

Richard Benyon: Current preparedness and processes for managing risk from coastal flooding and coastal erosion are set out within the National Flood Emergency Framework, the Lead Government Department Plan for Flooding and the Flood Rescue Enhancement Project Concept of Operations.
	This Government are on course to spend £2.3 billion on reducing the risk from flooding and coastal erosion over this spending period (April 2011 to March 2015). We expect to better protect 165,000 households over the same period.

Fisheries Regional Advisory Councils

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to increase the representation of vessels of under 10 metres on regional advisory councils.

Richard Benyon: The role of regional advisory councils is to advise on the development of fisheries management measures and is established under the current common fisheries policy (CFP). The councils are stakeholder-led organisations comprised principally of fishermen and other representatives of interests affected by the CFP. They establish their own representative organisational make-up and rules of procedure.
	Regional advisory councils are likely to play an invaluable role in the establishment of a more regionalised approach to fisheries management under CFP reform. I am therefore pleased that advisory councils have recognised the importance of a strong voice for small-scale fishers and are taking steps to ensure a balanced representation of all stakeholders, covering the entire fishing fleet, to include the full range of operators of small through to large vessels.

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff of the Environment Agency are (i) working on current shale gas licensing, regulation and enforcement and (ii) preparing a regulatory regime for commercial shale gas extraction; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has recently set up a shale gas unit, which is comprised of four national officers working full time on the regulation of unconventional gas activities. This unit then calls in resource from staff in other parts of the organisation, such as technical specialists in groundwater, mining waste and radioactive substances as well as operational and legal teams, as and when necessary. The work load fluctuates and these specialists undertake a wide range of regulatory roles so are not solely dedicated to regulating and permitting shale gas activities. It is therefore not possible to give an exact answer, but the Environment Agency estimates that approximately a further 40 staff are currently involved in this work across England and Wales.
	As regards the preparation of a regulatory regime for commercial shale gas extraction, the Environment Agency is focusing its resources on the most immediate priority which is the exploration phase. As work is concluded in these areas, the Environment Agency will shift its attention to commercial shale gas extraction, which is some years away from development.

Horses: Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2013, Official Report , column 902W, on horses: slaughterhouses, how many positive phenylbutazone (Bute) samples were collected from each of the abattoirs licensed to slaughter horses in each of the last four years.

Anna Soubry: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of positive phenylbutazone samples collected at each licensed abattoir 
			 Country Abattoir Establishment no. 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total 
			 England High Peak Meat Exports Ltd 4185 0 0 0 3 3 
			 England Peter Boddy 2163 0 0 0 0 0 
			 England Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 0 5 1 6 12 
			 England Yorkshire Country Meats 2238 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Northern Ireland Oakdale 9080 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Note: Yorkshire Country Meats (2238) ceased processing horses in September 2012.

Horses: Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 903-4W, on horses: slaughterhouses, on what dates the two positive phenylbutazone (Bute) samples which the Food Standards Agency is trying to trace were taken; and to which premises the two contaminated horse carcasses were sent in the UK.

Anna Soubry: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The following table provides information relating to the two samples which the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are currently tracing.
	
		
			  Date sample collected Establishment name where sample collected Country: Establishment number: Location of carcase after confirmed noncompliance for phenylbutazone FSA Action 
			 4 21 May 2012 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd England 4185 Netherlands FSA has contacted the EC Rapid Alert system for Feed and Food (RASFF) team. 
			 5 10 October 2012 Stillman (Somerset) Ltd England 8231 France FSA has contacted the EC (RASFF) team. 
		
	
	The following table details the locations the carcase was distributed to after slaughter in the United Kingdom.
	
		
			  Date sample collected Establishment name where sample collected Establishment number: Location of carcase after confirmed noncompliance for phenylbutazone FSA Action 
			 8 3 August 2012 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd 4185 Mr Harvey Kaye, Breworth Fold Farm, Brindle, Chorley, Lancashire Mr S Crawshaw, Old Hollins Farm, Lingard Lane, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield FSA informed the local authorities under which these locations were present to carry out investigations. The local authorities are Chorley Council and Kirklees Council

Livestock: Exports

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the judicial review into his Department's handling of the incident involving the export of live animals in Ramsgate on 12 September 2012 has yet been determined.

David Heath: The application by the RSPCA for permission to apply for judicial review on this Department's policy and practice in relation to the export of live animals from Ramsgate was refused by the High Court on 5 February.
	In refusing permission, the Honourable Mr Justice Males made the following statement:
	“There is no arguable illegality in the policy or practice of AHVLA in relation to authorisation or inspection of the transport of live sheep through the port of Ramsgate to Calais.”
	The RSPCA has seven days to request that the judge's decision be reconsidered at a hearing in open court.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter of 9 January 2013 to the chief officer, Ministry of Tourism and Development, Cayman Islands arising from the reply sent to him by the Minister on 8 January 2013, ref MC296113/RG.

Richard Benyon: I would advise the hon. Member to contact the Cayman Islands Government direct regarding this matter.

Training

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many away days his Department has held since 2010; and what the cost was of each such event.

Richard Benyon: This information is not held centrally and so could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	The DEFRA departmental board held one away day in the relevant period at a cost of around £200.

Waste: Exports

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of waste his Department estimates will be exported from the UK in each of the next five years.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has no estimates for the volume of waste that will be exported from the UK in the next five years. It is difficult to predict future trends in these exports as the reasons why waste is exported are varied. They include the relative demand from UK and overseas countries, prices offered for waste in the UK and abroad, and shipping costs.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Constituencies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on reducing the number of hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies (PVSC) Act 2011 provides for the number of constituencies to be reduced from 650 to 600. Under the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, the first review of parliamentary constituency boundaries under the PVSC Act that would reduce the number of constituencies is moved from 2013 to 2018.

Nuclear Weapons

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has had with international partners regarding the UK designing a new nuclear warhead.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 136W.

Nuclear Weapons

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what legal advice the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has (a) sought and (b) received regarding the UK designing a new nuclear warhead;
	(2)  what legal advice the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has (a) sought and (b) received on whether alternatives to the current nuclear deterrent system would honour the UK's obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	The review takes as its starting point that the UK will continue to comply with its international obligations.

Nuclear Weapons

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has had with the US Administration about whether the alternatives to the current nuclear deterrent system would be (a) supported by the US Administration and (b) in line with the US 2010 Nuclear Posture Review Report.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	None.

Trident

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings he has had with hon. Members and Peers as part of the Trident Alternatives Review; and if he will publish a list of the dates of all such meetings and participants.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	None.

Trident

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Trident Alternatives Review is considering which departmental budget will fund any new nuclear deterrent.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	It is not.

Trident

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has had with the defence industry on the Trident Alternatives Review; and if he will publish a list of the dates of all such meetings and participants.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	None.

Trident

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has had with local authorities as part of the Trident Alternatives Review on the feasibility of specific sites for a land-based deterrent; and if he will publish a list of the dates of all such meetings and participants.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	None.

Trident

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on the Trident Alternatives review to date.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth) on 22 November 2012, Official Report, column 563W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol-related Crime

Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to reduce alcohol-related crime.

Jeremy Browne: The Government's Alcohol Strategy sets out a range of action under way to tackle alcohol-related crime. We have given the police and local communities more powers to tackle late night drinking problems by restricting opening hours and charging a late night levy to support policing. We have recently consulted the public on other measures, including the introduction of minimum unit pricing. This consultation closed last week.

Domestic Violence

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress her Department has made on improving the detection and reporting of incidents of domestic violence.

Jeremy Browne: The Government have introduced new initiatives to improve the reporting of domestic violence. These include piloting the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme and Domestic Violence Protection Orders.
	Detections are, of course, a matter of the police and we will continue to work with them to improve detection rates and reporting of these violent and abhorrent crimes.

UK Immigration: Bulgaria and Romania

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to control immigration from Bulgaria and Romania.

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to control immigration from Bulgaria and Romania.

Mark Harper: Speculative projections about future inflows cannot be made with any degree of accuracy and are therefore not useful. Instead we are focused on dealing with abuse of free movement rights and reducing the pull factors for migration. I am chairing a cross-Government group of Ministers to examine controls on immigrants' access to benefits and public services.

Criminal Records

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made on allowing people to transfer criminal record disclosures between local authorities.

Theresa May: The Government have legislated for a new portable disclosure service, the Update Service, in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This will benefit all customers, including local authorities. The new service will be delivered by the Disclosure and Barring Service, who are currently developing the new service. The new service will be provided free of charge to volunteers as part of our wider drive to promote volunteering.

Entry Clearances

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many direct airside transit visas were issued by nationality in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: The answer is a tabulated response showing the number of direct airside transit visas issued, broken down by nationality for the period October 2011 to September 2012.
	In accordance with our obligations under the Data Protection Act, the table shows ‘+’ which represents figures one or two and ‘—’ represents nil. This is to protect individual applications that could otherwise be identified.
	These data are based on management information. They are provisional and subject to change.
	
		
			 Nationality Issued 
			 Afghanistan 4 
			 Albania 6 
			 Algeria 5 
			 Angola + 
			 Bangladesh 57 
			 Belarus 13 
			 Benin + 
			 Bhutan + 
			 Bolivia 7 
			 Burma (Myanmar) 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Cameroon 10 
			 China 270 
			 Colombia 87 
			 Cuba 5 
			 Democratic Republic of Congo + 
			 Djibouti — 
			 Dominican Republic 4 
			 Ecuador 34 
			 Egypt 56 
			 Eritrea 4 
			 Ethiopia 13 
			 Gambia + 
			 Ghana 92 
			 Guinea + 
			 Guinea-Bissau — 
			 India 2,017 
			 Indonesia — 
			 Iran 30 
			 Iraq 14 
			 Ivory Coast + 
			 Jamaica 69 
			 Jordan + 
			 Kenya 82 
			 Kosovo 3 
			 Lebanon 69 
			 Liberia + 
			 Libya + 
			 Macedonia 22 
			 Malawi 6 
			 Moldova + 
			 Mongolia + 
			 Montenegro 4 
			 Morocco — 
			 Mozambique + 
			 Nepal 47 
			 Nigeria 81 
			 Oman — 
			 Pakistan 64 
			 Peru + 
			 Philippines + 
			 Russia + 
			 Rwanda 3 
			 Saudi Arabia + 
			 Senegal 5 
			 Serbia 61 
			 Sierra Leone 19 
			 Somalia + 
			 South Africa 1,379 
			 Sri Lanka 131 
			 Stateless (article 1, 1951 convention) — 
			 Sudan 10 
			 Swaziland + 
			 Syria 22 
			 Tanzania 21 
			 Thailand — 
			 Tunisia + 
			 Turkey 76 
			 Uganda 26 
			 Unspecified nationality + 
			 Venezuela + 
			 Vietnam 19 
			 XXB 4 
			 XXH + 
			 XXP 37 
		
	
	
		
			 Yemen 17 
			 Yugoslavia — 
			 Zambia + 
			 Zimbabwe 30 
			 Total 5,041

Immigration Controls

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received by hon. Members on firms in their constituencies and the right to sponsor overseas employees.

Mark Harper: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Marine Policing Unit

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis about the future of the Marine Unit based at Wapping (a) generally and (b) in respect of night river patrols.

Damian Green: There have been no discussions on this matter.
	Decisions about the most effective use of available resources, including number of officers and patrols by Thames river police are a matter for the Mayor of London, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis.

Slavery

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to train police officers to help identify victims of slavery.

Jeremy Browne: Combating human trafficking is part of core police business. All new police officers receive mandatory training on trafficking and existing officers have access to awareness material.
	In England and Wales over 18,000 police staff have completed an e-learning package on human trafficking. Many forces also have their own human trafficking training.

Telecommunications: Databases

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times communications data were accessed as part of investigations into paedophile activity in the two week survey conducted by the Association of Chief Police Officers during summer 2012.

James Brokenshire: During the two week 2012 Association of Chief Police Officers Single Point of Contact Survey, there were 592 occasions that communications data were disclosed by communications service providers to participating law enforcement organisations to support child abuse investigations. The survey was conducted on the basis of identifying broad crime types that communications data were acquired for—and the closest approximation to the investigation of “paedophile activity” is the category relating to the investigation of child abuse.
	These snapshot survey figures if repeated over a 12-month period would therefore indicate an annual total of around 15,000 disclosures to support child abuse investigations.
	Communications data are used to investigate a range of crimes, but are particularly important in child abuse investigations which frequently involve the internet—either through the grooming of children online, or the sharing of illegal child abuse images. Communications data are vital to establish who has been in contact with whom in these sorts of investigation; they can also be used to locate vulnerable individuals so that they can be protected from harm.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Brandon Lewis: The average cost to the Department for Communities and Local Government of processing the payment of an invoice, based on data for the last 12 months ending January 2013, is:
	The direct cost of staff involved in scanning invoices, handling queries and processing invoices for payment, divided by the number of invoices received in the 12 month period ending January 2013 is £6.96.
	The cost of processing the payment transaction is £2.62.
	This compares with costs of £7.55 for direct staff costs and processing the payment transaction costs of £2.62 in the 12-month period ending in September 2011.
	The average proportion of invoices settled over the same period (a) electronically is 99.9% and (b) by cheque is 0.1%.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to promote the installation of fibre optic cables to facilitate high-speed broadband in new housing developments.

Nicholas Boles: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 23 January 2013, Official Report, columns 299-300W.

Early Intervention Grant

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authority use of the early intervention grants for family intervention projects; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 1 February 2013
	My Department published information from the evaluation of family intervention projects in our recent report, “Working with Troubled Families”, which is available on my Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-troubled-families-a-guide-to-evidence-and-good-practice

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff of the Planning Inspectorate are working on cases relating to shale gas; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: Currently the Planning Inspectorate is not dealing with any shale gas extraction projects and therefore no staff are engaged in this type of casework.

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to clause 24 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, how he plans to ensure that local residents will have their views on shale gas developments in their local area taken into account where a development is considered as a nationally significant infrastructure project; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 127W. Notwithstanding, we are still considering the responses we have received on the proposed list of development types as part of the consultation document on extending the nationally significant infrastructure regime to business and commercial projects. The nationally significant infrastructure regime places a requirement on the applicant to undertake consultation. Local people have the opportunity to put forward their views on an application at the pre-application stage, following submission of the application and then again, if an application is accepted for examination, to be heard at a hearing.

Homelessness: Brighton and Hove

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department plans to spend on reducing homelessness in Brighton and Hove in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; whether these plans have taken account of any modelling of possible increases in homelessness as a result of planned changes to (i) under-occupancy rules in social housing, (ii) the benefit cap, (iii) council tax benefit and (iv) the Social Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Brighton and Hove have been awarded provisional funding for homelessness prevention of £1,292,665 for 2013-14 and 2014-15. The council is also eligible to apply for funding from the localising support for council transition grant scheme.
	The baseline funding level for local authorities is set according to need at the outset of the Homelessness Prevention Grant scheme and a number of modifications have been used to ensure funding follows need (for example, adjustments have been made to meet peaks in youth homelessness and rough sleeping).
	Brighton and Hove will receive £1,014,714 in 2013-14 for discretionary housing payments to help support households with the transition of welfare reform changes. This funding falls under the remit of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Local Government Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the local government funding formula accounts for (a) local authorities' statutory functions and (b) anticipated cost pressures on those functions.

Brandon Lewis: At each spending review the Government consider what functions, both statutory and non-statutory, are to be funded through the local government finance settlement and what functions are to be funded outside of it through special or specific grants. The Government then consider the cost pressures on services and take these into account, alongside wider fiscal considerations, when setting the amount of funding to be provided to local government.
	The funding formula used for the 2013-14 local government finance settlement is set out in the draft Local Government Finance Report (England) 2013/2014 which was laid in this House on 4 February.

Local Government Finance

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 4 February 2012, Official Report, column 1WS, on local government finance, by what method he estimated the change in local councils' spending power in the next financial year.

Brandon Lewis: The precise definition and calculation of spending power is published at:
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/1314/esgnotes.pdf

Lydd Airport

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to make a recommendation on the application referred to his Department by the Planning Inspector regarding the proposed runway extension and new terminal facilities at Lydd airport.

Nicholas Boles: As my hon. Friend will be aware, these planning applications are before the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), and for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin). We do not set targets for the determination of planning cases such as this that involve two Departments. However, I can assure him that we are treating the case as a priority and that the Secretaries of State will issue their decision as quickly as they reasonably can.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

Brandon Lewis: As explained in the answers of 16 December 2010, Official Report, column 933W, and 10 January 2013, Official Report, column 409W, unlike the last Government, we are rooting out waste and we do not spend taxpayers' money on pot plants or the display of cut flowers.
	The incoming Administration cancelled the contract for internal departmental plants in September 2010. This contract had been signed under the last Administration in 2004 by the (then) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The 2004 contract required the provision of indoor plants which
	“takes cognisance of its position within the First Secretary of State's Premises”
	and a
	“Service for the provision of cut flowers, on request by authorised personnel of the First Secretary of State”.
	The 2004 contract cost taxpayers £38,858 until its termination by Ministers in this Government.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer of 28 June 2011, Official Report, column 731W, on the Audit Commission's £6,500 flower display bill under the last Administration; this was also terminated in September 2010.

Right to Buy Scheme

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many right-to-buy sales to sitting tenants have taken place since 1980.

Mark Prisk: Local authorities sold 1,775,000 dwellings through the right to buy scheme between 1980-81 and 2011-12. There were also 86,000 dwellings sold by registered providers through the preserved right to buy and right to buy schemes over the same time period. Further information can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-housing-sales-in-england-2011-to-2012

Social Rented Housing

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the oral answer from the Minister for Housing of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 20, on social housing, what progress he has made on plans to bring forward legislative proposals affecting social housing tenants who sub-let a room.

Mark Prisk: The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act, legislation introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Richard Harrington), and supported by the Government, received Royal Assent on 31 January. The Act creates new criminal offences of unlawful sub-letting by secure and assured tenants of social housing in England and Wales and provides for the courts to make orders for the recovery from defendants of profits made from unlawful sub-letting.
	The Act will serve both to deter and punish more severely the small, but nonetheless significant, minority of social tenants who choose to abuse their tenancy and deprive others in need of a social home by leaving the property they have been allocated to live elsewhere and letting it out, sometimes for a considerable profit.
	The Act does not cover, nor is there any intention to legislate for, the quite different situation where social tenants continue living in their property but rent out a spare room to a lodger. All secure tenants have a statutory right to take in a lodger and assured tenants are able to take in a lodger subject to any restrictions in their tenancy agreement.

Vacant Land

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many developments were built on greenfield sites in (a) England, (b) Leeds and (c) Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years.

Nicholas Boles: The Department's Land Use Change-Green Statistics provide information about development on previously-developed land and on “greenfield” (non previously-developed land). These statistics are published on the Department's website at the following link,
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-land-use-change-statistics
	Residential development is covered in Tables 211 to 213 and other developed uses in Tables 261 to 265. The statistics are not available at constituency level.

EDUCATION

Further Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much has been made available from the post-16 learner budget provided by the Education Funding Agency to each of the first wave City Deals in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.

David Laws: holding answer 4 February 2013
	No 16-19 learner budget funding has been made available to City Deals by the Education Funding Agency and there are no plans to do so. However, funding from the separate Youth Contract budget has been given to three core cities in 2012-13 (no money was given in 2011-12) as follows:
	
		
			 2012-13 
			 Local authority £ 
			 Liverpool 516,712 
			 Leeds(1) (Bradford, Wakefield) 1,888,817 
			 Newcastle(2) (Gateshead) 577,695 
			 (1) The grant paid to Leeds includes sufficient funding to provide services in Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield local authorities. (2) The grant paid to Newcastle includes sufficient funding to provide services in Newcastle and Gateshead local authorities.

Schools: Information Regulations

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the degree to which schools in England are compliant with the School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

David Laws: The amended regulations removed the requirement for schools to produce a hard copy prospectus each year and instead require schools to publish certain information online. This includes information about their pupil premium expenditure, which rises to £900 per eligible pupil for 2013-14.
	The pupil premium is a significant Government investment in addition to mainstream school funding, for which schools are accountable to parents and to their local communities. The Government are determined to narrow attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, and that is why we have introduced the pupil premium. This investment currently stands at £1.25 billion this year and will rise to £1.875 billion in 2013-14. We believe that head teachers and school leaders should decide how to use the pupil premium, as they are the professional experts who know their own pupils' needs. This means that we also expect schools to take the lead responsibility in assessing and accounting for their use of the premium.
	Departmental researchers recently conducted a random survey of schools' compliance, which found that only 21 of the 120 schools sampled published online information on their pupil premium allocation and/or expenditure. This included nine primary schools, 11 secondary schools, and one special school. None of the 10 pupil referral units (PRU) sampled provided online information on either their pupil premium allocation, or expenditure.
	These are unacceptable figures. Schools are free to choose how to spend the pupil premium to achieve their objectives, but the use of the money must be clear and schools will be held to account. That is why we are taking the additional steps outlined in my response to PQ 138696. We shall be examining the compliance of a further sample of schools in the spring.
	Governing bodies and head teachers have clear responsibilities to ensure that their school adheres to the law. If a parent believes that a school is not complying with the requirements they are entitled to raise this with the governing body. If they remain dissatisfied, they can then raise their complaint with the Secretary of State. Any such complaint would be handled as set out in the Department's published school complaints process.

Schools: Information Regulations

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with the School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

David Laws: The amended regulations removed the requirement for schools to produce a hard copy prospectus each year and instead require schools to publish certain important information online. The Department notified schools about the changes made to these regulations which came into force in September 2012. This has included through termly departmental Need to Know emails to all schools (before and after the changes came into force), publishing and updating information on the departmental website, and working to communicate the changes through partners like the National Governors Association.
	The regulations also introduced an important new requirement, to publish online information about their pupil premium expenditure, which rises to £900 per eligible pupil next year, and for which schools are accountable to parents and to their local communities. Overall compliance by schools concerned with this requirement had not reached satisfactory levels when it was examined during autumn 2012.
	Her Majesty's chief inspector has recently written to schools, drawing their attention to the new formal inspection focus on their use of the pupil premium and the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. I have recently asked Sir Michael Wilshaw to consider the ways in which his inspectors might use a school's published information about the pupil premium in support of their assessments. Compliance with the regulations would then help to inform the dialogue between a school and its inspectors, improve schools' general sense of accountability, and engage the parents of disadvantaged children more fully with their children's educational opportunities. We are publishing examples of information prepared by schools about their use of the premium on the Department's pupil premium webpage at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/premium

Schools: Inspections

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Ofsted inspections have been contested in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints were (a) upheld and (b) dismissed.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to my hon. Friend, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 5 February 2013
	Your recent Parliamentary Question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	The following tables detail the number of Ofsted inspections, and the number of upheld and not upheld complaints about Ofsted. This information is split by academic year and between stage one and stage two of the published Ofsted complaints handling process. Data on upheld complaints include all investigations where at least one aspect of concern has been upheld.
	A stage one complaint investigation includes challenges to inspection judgements (gradings) as well as concerns about inspector conduct, Ofsted administration, or information. The stage two complaint investigation is Ofsted's equivalent of an appeal against the investigation completed at stage one and reviews the handling of the original complaint. We do not record separately whether a complaint is directly linked to an inspection, however, it should be noted that the vast majority of complaints relate to Ofsted inspections. Therefore, the total number of Ofsted inspections is included for comparison purposes.
	Ofsted does not hold sufficiently detailed complaints data prior to the academic year 2009-10 to be able to contribute to this aspect of the response. Ofsted implemented a national complaints function from 1 September 2009 which led to the introduction of a national reporting system for stage one and stage two complaints. Prior to this date, complaints handling was carried out across three of Ofsted's regional offices where data and information was collated, but not in a consistent format.
	A copy of this reply will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	
		
			 Stage One complaints—number of upheld/partially upheld and not upheld (academic year) 
			  Inspections Total complaints Upheld/partially upheld complaints Not upheld complaints 
			 2009-10 31,066 1,681 784 897 
			 2010-11 31,238 1,571 305 1,266 
			 2011-12 28,613 1,687 264 1,423 
		
	
	
		
			 Stage Two complaints—number of upheld/partially upheld and not upheld (academic year) 
			  Inspections Total complaints Upheld/partially upheld complaints Not upheld complaints 
			 2009-10 31,066 193 79 114 
			 2010-11 31,238 215 118 97 
			 2011-12 28,613 233 92 141 
			 Notes: 1. Data for inspections relates to inspections of schools, childcare, children's social care, and learning and skills in the relevant academic years. 2. Data for total complaints is all complaints within the reporting period, including those following Ofsted inspections. 3. Data for upheld/partially upheld complaints includes all complaints where at least one aspect of concern has been upheld. 4. Data for not upheld complaints includes all complaints where no aspect of concern has been upheld, including those where no decision could be reached.

Schools: Standards

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether Ofsted uses floor standards to determine whether a school is failing.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 4February 2013
	Your recent Parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	Ofsted inspectors look at a wide range of evidence to inform their judgements about a school. Ofsted uses floor standards to help inspectors determine the judgement on the achievement of pupils at a school. When judging achievement, inspectors take account of both pupils' progress and their attainment. Where attainment is consistently below floor standards, then achievement is likely to be found to be inadequate. If pupils are consistently making less than expected progress—a situation which would apply to a school consistently below the floor standards for progress—then it is likely that achievement would be judged inadequate.
	If achievement is judged inadequate, for any reason, the overall effectiveness of the schoo1 is likely to be found to be inadequate. Inspectors will state in the inspection report whether a school meets current floor standards(1).
	A copy of this reply will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	(1 )This does not include nursery schools, special schools or pupil referral units.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what broadband speed her Department defines as super-fast.

Edward Vaizey: BDUK/DCMS has defined Superfast Broadband as having a potential headline access speed of greater than 24 Mbps, with no upper limit.

ICT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to help those who lack basic IT skills to get online.

Edward Vaizey: BDUK is encouraging local authorities responsible for delivering broadband projects to develop demand stimulation campaigns that support people and businesses to take full advantage of better broadband. These campaigns need both to motivate people to recognise the benefits of being online and to support them to build their digital skills. BDUK is working with Go ON, UK national partners and others to channel additional support through local broadband projects.

National Lottery: Brigg and Goole

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much national lottery funding from each different lottery fund was given to organisations in Brigg and Goole constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Hugh Robertson: Information on the value and number of lottery grants made by each of the lottery distributing bodies in the Brigg and Goole constituency can be found by searching the Department's lottery grants database, which uses information on lottery grants supplied by the lottery distributors, at:
	www.lottery.culture.gov.uk

Sex Discrimination

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to tackle sexism.

Hugh Robertson: The Department and its arm's length bodies undertake a wide range of activities to promote equality across all of its sectors.

Tourism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people she estimates will travel abroad in 2013.

Hugh Robertson: We have made no estimate of the number of UK residents that will travel abroad during 2013.

Tourism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists she estimates will visit the UK in 2013.

Hugh Robertson: VisitBritain estimates that 31.7 million overseas tourists will come to the UK in 2013.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Discrimination

Harriet Harman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when she plans to take steps to bring into force the dual discrimination provisions contained in section 14 of the Equality Act 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: In March 2011, the Government published the “Plan for Growth” which announced that they would not bring forward the dual discrimination provisions. The then Minister for Women and Equalities confirmed this commitment in her written statement to Parliament on 15 May 2012, Official Report, columns 28-29WS, on the outcome of the Equalities Red Tape Challenge.
	These provisions will remain on the statute book but will have no effect during the lifetime of this Parliament.

Discrimination

Harriet Harman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what meetings she has had on dual discrimination issues since her appointment.

Helen Grant: None. In March 2011, the Government published the “Plan for Growth” which announced that they would not bring forward the dual discrimination provisions. The then Minister for Women and Equalities confirmed this commitment in her written statement to Parliament on 15 May 2012, Official Report, columns 28-29WS, on the outcome of the Equalities Red Tape Challenge.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by the Government Equalities Office (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by the Government Equalities Office (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session;

Helen Grant: Since 4 September 2012 responsibility for the Government Equalities Office, formerly within the Home Office, moved to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The response to these questions by the Minister for Immigration includes the information requested relating to the Government Equalities Office.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Overseas Aid

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many developing countries are in receipt of support through her Department's Global Poverty Action Fund.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development is supporting Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF) projects in 31 countries. The eligibility criteria for GPAF proposals state that DFID is willing to support high quality work in DFID's 28 focal countries or countries that are in the bottom 50 of the United Nations Human Development Index.

Palestinians

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the projects funded by (a) bilateral British financial aid packages and (b) multilateral financial aid packages involving funding from her Department to (i) the Palestinian Authority and (ii) non-governmental organisations working in the Gaza Strip and West Bank; and if she will give details of how these projects are audited.

Lynne Featherstone: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Details for projects funded through our Palestinian programme are available on our website:
	www.dfid.gov.uk/Where-we-work/Middle-East--North-Africa/OPT/
	This includes funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and non-governmental organisations.
	(b) DFID also provides core funding to a number of multilateral agencies. Details of the agencies we fund are available at the following link:
	www.dfid.gov.uk/What-we-do/Who-we-work-with/
	Audit arrangements for all of our programmes are set out in the financial sections of the relevant business cases. These are available on our website:
	http://projects.dfid.gov.uk/Default.aspx?countrySelect=WB-Occupied_Palestinian_Territories

Sudan and South Sudan

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian assistance she is providing to Sudan and South Sudan; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID continues to be a leading contributor to the humanitarian response in Sudan supporting emergency water, food and health interventions in Sudan and contributing £21 million in 2012. Where possible we will look to support communities to rebuild their lives and reduce their dependency on short-term humanitarian support. We stand ready to provide support to South Kordofan and Blue Nile states once humanitarian access is permitted. Total UK support for the humanitarian situation in South Sudan stands at £48 million for 2012, which includes funds for the refugee crisis channelled through the Common Humanitarian Fund, World Food Programme and a £5 million contribution to UN High Commissioner for Refugees to help, in part, to prepare for additional refugees in 2013. We are also currently considering the level of humanitarian funding for both Sudan and South Sudan for the coming year. We will continue to work with our international partners in both countries in deciding how best to respond to and plan for the changing humanitarian need.

Sudan and South Sudan

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Sudan and South Sudan; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: I am extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in both Sudan and South Sudan. In Sudan we are particularly concerned for civilians caught up in fighting in the border states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. We are also deeply worried about the recent escalation of conflict in North Darfur which is affecting 100,000 people. South Sudan remains in the grip of a long-term, complex humanitarian crisis. This has resulted from large numbers of internally displaced people from conflict and flooding, a flow of returnees from Sudan, and a general food security problem faced by much of the population. The situation has been further exacerbated by the influx of around 175,000 refugees from Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile into both Unity and Upper Nile States. I have visited both Darfur and South Sudan in the last four months to see first-hand the humanitarian situation.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arctic

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions were held at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 31 January 2013 on the safety of drilling for oil or gas in the Arctic Circle.

Mark Simmonds: There were no explicit discussions on the safety of drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Circle. The discussion on the Arctic focused around member states' support for the Commission's application for Arctic Council observer status. Ministers also focused on the impact of climate change on the Arctic, and the importance of respecting the rights of the Arctic's indigenous peoples.

Arctic

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 31 January 2013 on the safety of drilling for oil or gas in the Arctic Circle.

Mark Simmonds: There were no explicit discussions on the safety of drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Circle. The discussion on the Arctic focused around member states’ support for the Commission’s application for Arctic Council observer status. Ministers also focused on the impact of climate change on the Arctic, and the importance of respecting the rights of the Arctic’s indigenous peoples.

Bahrain

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has recently raised with the Government of Bahrain the ban on public demonstrations in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Bahrain Minister for the Interior announced a temporary ban on rallies in Bahrain on 29 October. As I said in my statement at the time, we were concerned by this decision as a blanket ban of this nature appeared excessive.
	Since then there have been a number of demonstrations approved and taken place peacefully. We understand the Government's concerns about maintaining law and order, especially when faced with increasingly violent protests, but peaceful protests are a democratic right. Equally though, protestors should also desist from violent acts.

Capital Punishment

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised the issue of capital punishment with his counterparts in (a) Iran, (b) China, (c) Russia and (d) the US; and when this issue was last discussed at (i) the General Assembly of the United Nations and (ii) the UN Security Council.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers and officials regularly raise the issue of abolition of the death penalty with their counterparts. The FCO has raised this issue with the countries and institutions named as follows:
	Iran: We frequently condemn Iran's excessive use of the death penalty. Most recently on 18 January, we condemned the death sentences of five members of Iran's Ahwazi Arab minority in a statement on the Foreign and Commonwealth website, UK for Iranians at:
	http://ukforiranians.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=851520682#
	The UK was a co-sponsor of the annual UN resolution on Human Rights in Iran in the autumn, which criticised Iran's use of the death penalty. The resolution passed with an overwhelming majority.
	China: we last raised the issue during the most recent UK-China human rights dialogue in January 2012. In addition, we engage in project work to promote debate about the death penalty and movement towards abolition within Chinese judicial circles, experts and civil society.
	Russia: although Russia has not formally abolished the death penalty, it has applied a moratorium on its use since 1999. We have not, therefore, raised this issue recently with the Russian authorities.
	The United States: responsibility for the death penalty rests primarily at state level in the United States. We regularly raise the death penalty with state authorities. Our most recent intervention, acting jointly with our EU partners, was with the authorities of Oklahoma in November 2012.
	UN General Assembly: our most recent action was in support of the biennial General Assembly Resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, which was passed by 111 votes to 41, with 34 abstentions, on 20 December 2012.
	UN Security Council: the mandate of the Security Council does not extend to the death penalty, which is an issue of states' domestic policy.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent diplomatic efforts he has made to find a long-term solution to the military and humanitarian crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mark Simmonds: I remain deeply concerned by the fragile state of security in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I visited the region from 21-23 November last year to assess the situation in person, and followed up on 10 December with phone calls to the Foreign Ministers of DRC, Uganda and Rwanda. I pursued further with regional leaders and UN officials in the margins of the African Union (AU) summit at the end of January. In addition, the Prime Minister spoke to Presidents Kagame and Kabila on 22 November last year. He pressed them to find a sustainable solution to this long running conflict. British officials have been engaged with interested Governments, on the ground in Kigali, Kinshasa and Kampala, as well as at the UN, the AU, the EU and elsewhere, in promoting the early signature of a regional Peace and Security Framework setting out the conditions for peace in the region. We remain convinced that a credible international oversight mechanism for its implementation will help ensure the sustained regional and international attention needed to ensure long-term gains.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to support the appointment of a UN special envoy to lead mediation in Democratic Republic of Congo in collaboration with the International Conference on the Great Lakes and the African Union.

Mark Simmonds: The UK believes that the appointment of a UN special envoy to the Great Lakes region is a key step in delivering a peaceful and sustainable solution to the crisis in the region. We have strongly encouraged the UN Secretary-General to appoint an envoy soon, including through UN Security Council resolution 2076 of 20 November last year.

Diplomatic Service

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to open new UK diplomatic posts overseas by 2015.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has announced plans to open the following UK diplomatic posts overseas by 2015, in addition to the posts opened since 2010. Details of further posts will be announced once planning is finalised and formal approval has been granted by the host Governments.
	
		
			 Post Country Type 
			 Asuncion Paraguay New Embassy 
			 Chandigarh India. New Deputy High Commission 
			 Mogadishu Somalia New Embassy 
			 Monrovia Liberia Upgrade Political Office to Embassy 
			 Port-au-Prince Haiti New Embassy

Diplomatic Service

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that his Department retains the expertise of senior former members of HM Diplomatic Service.

David Lidington: When the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), set out his vision of the future of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 8 September 2011, he emphasised the importance of cultivating and retaining the knowledge and expertise of senior FCO alumni. He also announced the decision to set up a new “Locarno Group” of former ambassadors and other senior former members of HM Diplomatic Service. Together they combine a broad range of strategic policy-making experience with expertise in specific areas relevant to current foreign policy priorities. Members provide valuable assistance in the development and implementation of foreign policy and perform a challenge role: an external check on the direction of the FCO's foreign policy in specific areas key to our national interest. They perform these functions both in Locarno Group meetings and to the rest of the FCO. The Group's discussions are treated as confidential advice to Ministers.
	Since its creation, the Secretary of State has held four meetings of the Locarno Group, most recently on 30 January 2013. Updated terms of reference for the Group (including membership) were placed in the Library of the House on 13 December 2012.

Diplomatic Service

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the comparative size of the UK's overseas diplomatic network and that of (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) Italy.

David Lidington: The UK has the third largest diplomatic network in the world with 266 overseas posts. France has 281, Germany 229, and Italy 228.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is strengthening its diplomatic network significantly, deploying more staff to the fastest growing regions, upgrading existing posts and opening new ones. We are the only European country that is expanding its diplomatic network in this way.

Diplomatic Service

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the UK to share diplomatic premises overseas with (a) Canada, (b) Australia and (c) New Zealand.

David Lidington: We are committed to strengthening our relationships with our Commonwealth partners. We believe that co-location of embassies, where it is of mutual benefit, supports closer co-operation, and is an efficient use of resources. Where we are co-located, it is as separate embassies in the same premises.
	The United Kingdom already shares diplomatic premises with:
	(a) Canada in Bamako and Rangoon
	(b) Australia in Vientiane
	(c) New Zealand in Kabul
	There are plans for further co-location with these countries. These include:
	(a) with Canada in Port-au-Prince
	(b) with Australia in Dakar. The Australians will also use around 12 of our offices in Africa during their two-year tenure of the United Nations Security Council.

Diplomatic Service

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to increase language training for UK diplomats; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Increasing the number of skilled language speakers in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is a priority for the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague). Work is under way to raise the standards of staff language skills significantly.
	We are:
	lengthening training programmes in key languages such as Arabic and Mandarin and increasing the number of speakers of these. Once trained speakers are in place, we will have 40% more speakers of Arabic and Mandarin in our posts overseas than in 2010;
	increasing the number of jobs overseas for which language skills will be a requirement;
	ensuring our training supports the influencing and negotiation skills required for effective diplomacy;
	providing lunchtime and after-work classes, and e-learning resources in key languages to ensure that speakers can develop and maintain skills while on home postings;
	and
	developing cadres of language expertise to support British foreign policy over the long term.
	As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced in a speech at the FCO in September 2011, this Government have also committed to re-open a language centre in the Foreign Office. We expect to open the language centre in summer 2013. The new centre will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 students a year, including from other Government Departments. This will allow us, for the first time, to accommodate all of our students on-site, including the many FCO staff who study languages part-time.

Embassies

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made to the UK's network of embassies since May 2010.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is strengthening its diplomatic network significantly, deploying more staff to the fastest growing regions, upgrading existing posts and opening new ones. Nine new posts have been opened or upgraded since May 2010, in the following locations:
	
		
			 Date Post Country Change 
			 May 2012 Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire Political Office upgraded to Embassy 
			 October 2012 Antananarivo Madagascar British Interests Section upgraded to Embassy 
			 July 2012 Bishkek Kyrgyzstan New Embassy 
			 September 2012 Calgary Canada Trade office upgraded to Consulate General 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2012 Hyderabad India Trade office upgraded to Deputy High Commission 
			 July 2011 Juba South Sudan New Embassy in new sovereign state 
			 November 2011 Brazil Recife Trade office upgraded to Consulate General 
			 November 2012 San Salvador El Salvador New Embassy 
			 October 2012 Laos Vientiane New Embassy 
		
	
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has made a commitment to retain all existing British embassies and high commissions throughout the life of this Parliament, but we have closed a number of consulates in Europe. We have changed our working methods to provide services to our customers in a more effective and efficient way, for example through the introduction of a Contact Centre in Malaga, which helps reduce calls to our posts in southern Europe.
	
		
			 Date Country Post Change 
			 September 2011 France Lille Consulate General closed (now covered from Paris) 
			 June 2012 France Lyon Consulate General closed and re-opened as a trade office 
			 December 2011 Italy Florence Consulate closed 
			 September 2011 Italy Venice Consulate General closed 
			 October 2010 Switzerland Geneva Consulate General closed

Indonesia

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which Christians are being persecuted in the Aceh Province of Indonesia; and what representations he has made to the Indonesian Government on that matter.

Hugo Swire: The British Government remain concerned about individuals and groups in Indonesia who are denied the right to freedom of religion or belief, or who face discrimination and persecution, including Christians in the Indonesian province of Aceh. We have noted with concern the closure of churches and other places of worship in Aceh over the last year.
	Staff at our embassy in Jakarta have visited Aceh, most recently in November 2012, to meet representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and religious communities, and officials from the provincial government. In May 2012, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi went to the province of Aceh and spoke to the Deputy Provincial Secretary regarding religious tolerance. Embassy officials will visit Aceh later in 2013 to continue to monitor the situation closely, and to maintain close links with local NGOs and religious groups, including church groups.
	More generally, our embassy in Jakarta frequently raises freedom of religion issues with the Government of Indonesia, most recently in December 2012 at meetings at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The deputy ambassador also recently met the Chairman of the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM) in January 2013 and discussed incidents of violations of freedom of religion.

Israel

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart about the recording of police interviews with children.

Alistair Burt: During his visit to Israel in November 2012 the Attorney-General, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) raised the issue of audio-visual recording of interviews with Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention, as recommended in an independent report by British legal experts, with the Israeli Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein and other senior interlocutors. Mr Weinstein agreed to further talks between UK and British legal experts on the subject. This followed previous discussions between the embassy in Tel Aviv and the Israeli authorities on this and other recommendations made in the June 2012 report.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials discussed the recommendations and progress on this issue with a senior Israeli legal delegation on 31 January 2013.

Middle East

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the peace process; and what topics were discussed.

Alistair Burt: The Government have regular contacts with the Israeli authorities on the peace process at both ministerial and senior official level. Contacts cover both the need for a return to negotiations and related issues such as settlements, the unfreezing of planning in E1, the need to release Palestinian tax revenues and the situation in Gaza.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the peace process with the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on 30 November and the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on 3 December. I also discussed the peace process with Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon on 2 January. Our ambassador to Israel has also discussed the peace process with a range of senior figures over this period.

Middle East

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Palestinian counterpart on the peace process; and what topics were discussed.

Alistair Burt: I discussed a wide range of issues concerning the middle east peace process with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on 21 December. I asked the President to engage in a renewed effort—led by the United States with full European support—to achieve a just and permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our officials at the Consulate-General in Jerusalem also recently met with Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat and discussed the peace process.
	The UK continues to urge both sides to refrain from any steps that would make the two-state solution, or a return to negotiations, more difficult. 2013 is a crucial year for the middle east peace process if progress is to be made before the window for a two-state solution closes. Accordingly we will continue to call on Palestinian Authority President Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister to show the strong leadership needed to achieve a return to negotiations for a two-state solution, which will bring a just and permanent solution to this conflict.

Occupied Territories

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evaluation he has made of third party legal opinions that trade with Israeli settlements aids and assists breaches in international law.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of third party legal opinions on this matter, but as the hon. Gentleman will know I am not able to comment on legal advice to Ministers. The issue of trade with Israeli settlements was recently addressed in the report of the HRC Fact Finding Mission dated 31 January 2013. We are considering this report and its recommendations in detail prior to the interactive dialogue to be held with the Fact Finding Mission during the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council.
	It is the Government's long standing view that settlements are illegal under international law and Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is governed by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a state party. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and regularly raise our profound concerns over Israel's settlement policy, including its implications on the rights of Palestinian people across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We will continue to press the next Israeli Government to cease all settlement activity.

Occupied Territories

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on Israeli development of Area C of the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: The Government remain deeply concerned about the impact of Israeli restrictions on Palestinians living in Area C, Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes and infrastructure and continued settlement building. We have received representations from members of the public via their MPs raising their concerns with this issue and from NGOs active on these issues. Our officials from the embassy in Tel Aviv have made representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue, most recently on 5 February with the Israeli National Security Council.

Western Sahara

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 710W, on Western Sahara, if he will ask MINURSO to report on the number of Moroccan soldiers stationed in the Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: MINURSO is not mandated to stipulate overall troop numbers. We currently have no plans to request MINURSO to incorporate this into their mandate.

Western Sahara

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct HM Ambassador to Morocco to investigate reports that demonstrations in El Aaiun, Western Sahara in connection with the trial of 24 Saharawi political prisoners were violently dispersed by Moroccan police.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of the reports to which the question refers. We follow events in Western Sahara very closely. We frequently discuss human rights issues relating to Western Sahara with the Moroccan authorities, including at senior level in Rabat and during the embassy's regular visits to Western Sahara itself.

Western Sahara

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct HM Ambassador to Morocco to investigate reports that the Moroccan police is handing out Saharawi clothing to Moroccans in Salé so as to create the impression that Saharawi are demanding the maximum sentence to be pronounced against the 24 Saharawi political prisoners in Salé prison.

Alistair Burt: Our embassy in Rabat is aware of Moroccan media reports of this nature. It is not however aware of any official comment from the authorities about this allegation. Our embassy will continue to monitor reporting about the trial.

CABINET OFFICE

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  if he will assess the top 10 issues that influence the happiness and well-being of UK citizens;
	(2)  if he will assess the role of fairness and equality in influencing well-being;
	(3)  if he will assess the public views on levels of community spirit and its impact on well-being;
	(4)  what recent assessment the Office for National Statistics has made of economic inequalities between generations.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will assess the top ten issues that influence the happiness and well-being of UK citizens (142472), the role of fairness and equality in influencing well-being (142473), the public views on levels of community spirit and its impact on well-being (142474) and what recent assessment the Office for National Statistics has made of economic inequalities between generations (142475).
	ONS has not made an official assessment of the top ten issues that influence the happiness and well-being of UK citizens. The National Well-being framework that ONS has developed following the National Debate on how to measure well-being recognises that individual's subjective well-being is influenced by a broad range of factors including: personal relationships, health, what we do, where we live, personal finance, education and skills, the economy, governance and the natural environment. Added to this, sustainability, fairness and equality were also seen as important aspects for consideration when assessing the nation's well-being.
	Many of the specific measures that are related to an individual's subjective well-being are also related to each other such as age, employment status, marital status and health. ONS is currently undertaking work to understand better the drivers of subjective well-being. Preliminary results suggest that for the measures available, self reported health, relationship status, employment status and ethnicity are most strongly related to subjective well-being. ONS plans to publish a report providing more detailed results in April or May 2013. Subsequent analysis including income and wealth is also planned.
	ONS has published estimates of people's views of their community involvement and belonging in the ‘Where we live' article in July 2012, but did not analyse how these are associated with levels of subjective well-being. However, it does provide estimates of how people's satisfaction of their local area is associated with life satisfaction. Of those who reported a medium/high satisfaction (seven to 10 out of 10) with their local area, 19% reported a low satisfaction (zero to six out of 10) with their life. However, of those who reported a low satisfaction with their local area, 42% reported a low satisfaction with their life. It must be noted that 58% who reported a low satisfaction with their local area also reported a medium/high satisfaction with life.
	In terms of economic inequalities between generations, ONS published a report July 2011 that considers a generational accounts approach to long term public finance in the UK.
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/psa/a-generational-accounts-approach-to-long-term-public-finance-in-the-uk/july-2010/long-term-public-finance.pdf
	ONS also publishes an annual statistical bulletin on The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household income which examines how taxes and benefits redistribute income between various groups of households in the UK, including retired and non-retired households.
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/household-income/the-effects-of-taxes-and-benefits-on-household-income/2010-11/etb-stats-bulletin-1011.html
	Further to this, ONS also publishes estimates of household wealth by age from the Wealth and Assets Survey. Table 14 in Chapter 2 of ‘Wealth in Great Britain' gives estimates of persons by age by the total wealth of the household in which they live.
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/was/wealth-in-great-britain-wave-2/2008-2010--part-2-/report--chapter-2--total-wealth.html

Average Earnings

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average salary was in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) each local authority in Scotland and (d) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average salary was in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) each local authority in Scotland and (d) Rutherglen and Hamilton West in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012. (142806)
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Annual levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, who have been in the same job for more than a year.
	The following table shows the median gross annual earnings for employee jobs in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) each local authority in Scotland and (d) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency for all employees and full-time employees, for each year from 2010 to 2012.
	
		
			 Median gross annual earnings for employee jobs(a) in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) each local authority in Scotland and (d) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency, for all employees and full-time employees from 2010 to 2012 
			 £ 
			  2010(b) 2011(b) 2011(c) 2012(c) 
			  All Full-time All Full-time All Full-time All Full-time 
			 United Kingdom 21,212 25,882 21,326 26,244 21,100 26,095 21,473 26,462 
			 Scotland 20,776 25,205 20,681 25,490 20,412 25,291 20,950 25,792 
			 Aberdeen City 24,980 29,983 *24,690 31,084 *24,669 30,837 *25,223 32,015 
			 Aberdeenshire *21,046 *26,580 *20,171 *25,664 *19,859 *25,521 *20,311 *25,404 
			 Angus *16,901 *20,888 *17,207 *21,361 *17,112 *21,273 *16,875 *22,278 
			 Argyll and Bute *19,915 *24,519 **21,242 **25,509 **20,930 **25,716 **20,283 *24,742 
			 Clackmannanshire **24,910 **29,011 **19,020 **25,654 **18,943 **26,237 **17,739 **24,008 
			 Dumfries and Galloway *17,891 *22,928 *16,564 *22,340 *16,461 *22,115 *16,125 *20,040 
			 Dundee City 20,871 23,887 *20,360 *23,328 *20,238 *23,269 *19,680 *23,584 
			 East Ayrshire *19,127 *24,125 *17,422 *24,494 *17,033 *24,085 *17,744 *24,919 
			 East Dunbartonshire **19,989 **27,489 **21,182 **25,187 **20,331 **25,079 **18,908 **26,567 
			 East Lothian **19,803 *23,206 **18,258 *23,655 **18,244 *23,065 **18,599 *23,981 
			 East Renfrewshire **17,126 **22,199 **19,189 **22,791 **18,804 **22,755 **16,437 **20,988 
			 Edinburgh, City of 23,936 27,830 24,712 28,025 24,367 27,808 24,628 28,297 
			 Eilean Siar **20,388 **23,592 **17,824 **24,254 **17,158 **24,253 X **25,417 
			 Falkirk *20,730 *25,285 *21,590 *24,191 *20,674 *23,891 *22,301 *26,293 
			 Fife 18,918 24,066 18,885 23,473 18,708 *23,178 *18,597 *23,548 
			 Glasgow City 21,422 24,837 21,317 25,428 21,014 25,269 21,931 26,201 
			 Highland *18,823 23,282 *18,779 22,988 *18,453 22,945 *19,343 *23,338 
			 Inverclyde **17,862 *25,042 **17,330 *24,979 **17,296 *24,896 **19,577 *24,920 
			 Midlothian *21,212 *24,568 X X *22,145 X **21,814 *27,412 
			 Moray *17,860 *22,200 *17,933 *23,619 *17,702 *23,609 **17,513 **23,297 
			 North Ayrshire **18,731 *25,252 *19,008 *26,138 *18,305 **25,114 *19,541 **23,775 
		
	
	
		
			 North Lanarkshire 20,173 *24,081 *20,342 *25,026 *19,979 *24,864 20,371 *24,656 
			 Orkney Islands **19,648 **24,497 **16,948 X **16,789 *X **16,050 X 
			 Perth and Kinross *19,680 *23,457 **18,751 **24,094 *18,479 *23,784 *19,960 *24,158 
			 Renfrewshire *21,490 *27,067 *22,682 27,198 *22,681 27,125 *23,973 27,478 
			 Scottish Borders **16,934 *21,057 *17,663 *20,920 *17,275 *21,007 *17,526 *21,264 
			 Shetland Islands **22,793 **27,833 **22,841 **27,996 **22,572 **28,063 **22,494 **27,366 
			 South Ayrshire X *27,579 **19,463 *26,651 **19,376 *26,569 **21,483 *27,807 
			 South Lanarkshire *19,648 *24,070 20,049 *25,091 20,034 24,742 *20,486 25,977 
			 Stirling *21,639 *25,461 *22,046 *27,307 *21,855 *27,228 *22,101 *27,706 
			 West Dunbartonshire *17,213 *23,151 **16,690 **23,688 **17,062 **23,951 *18,513 *25,126 
			 West Lothian *18,996 *22,680 *19,428 23,818 *19,153 23,562 *19,538 *24,760 
			          
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton West(d) *19,295 *21,270 *19,502 *21,480 *19,551 *21,546 *18,187 *22,524 
			 Notes: (a) Employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than one year. (b) Results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2000. (c) Results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2010. (d) Parliamentary constituency. Guide to quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220. Key: CV<=5% * CV>5% and <=10% ** CV>10% and <=20% X = Unreliable. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics.

Charities Act 2011

Alun Cairns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will introduce legislative proposals to further define the public benefit test in the Charities Act 2011.

Nick Hurd: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 26 November 2013, Official Report, column 89W.

Civil Servants: Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many equal pay cases have been lodged against Civil Service employers at employment tribunals since May 2010;
	(2)  which Civil Service employers have had equal pay cases lodged against them at employment tribunals since May 2010.

Francis Maude: Equal pay cases are a matter between employees and their employing Department.

Communities First Fund

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reason funding from the Community First scheme is allocated in target periods.

Nick Hurd: The budgets for Community First match funding are managed across the four financial years of the programme, 2011-12 to 2014-15. Funding is allocated for each financial year in line with the parliamentary supply estimates.

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, columns 152-3W, on cybercrime, what steps he is taking to address the security issues raised by Network Virtualization; and what guidance his Department has issued on Network Virtualization in Government networks.

Chloe Smith: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave on 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 932W.

Employment: Disability

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many disabled people in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber were in employment in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many disabled people in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and The Humber were in employment in the most recent period for which figures are available. (142803)
	Employment statistics for local areas are calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS is based on responses to interviews carried out during the twelve months of the survey period.
	The estimate of the number of people who were employed and had a disability (disabled according to the Disability Discrimination Act or having a work limiting disability) according to the October 2011 to September 2012 APS was 6,000 for those resident in Brigg and Goole constituency and 362,000 for those resident in Yorkshire and The Humber.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Harvey Nash

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contracts his Department (a) has and (b) has had with Harvey Nash in 2012-13; and what the monetary value is of each contract.

Francis Maude: As part of my Department's transparency programme, details of contracts awarded since January 2011 over the value of £10,000 and payments of over £25,000 are published on Contracts Finder:
	http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk

Internet

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the Government's policy is on securing IPv6 addresses.

Nick Hurd: The Government have already secured two top level IP Version 6 addressing domains and another will be acquired in 2013 for the public services network.

Jobseeker’s Allowance: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many ethnic minority jobseekers have been receiving jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) 12 months and (b) two years; and what proportion of the ethnic minority workforce that represents in each such case.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your two Parliamentary Questions asking how many ethnic minority jobseekers have been receiving jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) 12 months and (b) two years, and what proportion of the ethnic minority workforce that represents in each such case; and secondly how many jobseekers have been receiving jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) 12 months and (b) two years, and what proportion of the workforce that represents in each such case. (142321 & 142322)
	The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) has been taken from the Jobcentre Plus Administrative system. The estimates of the number of people in the workforce have been taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The workforce has been defined as all those who are economically active, that is either employed or unemployed.
	Table 1 shows the number of people in Great Britain, as at October 2012, who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months and for over 2 years, for all people and for ethnic minorities.
	Table 2 shows the number of people in Great Britain claiming JSA as a percentage of people who were economically active, according to survey responses to the September 2012 to November 2012 LFS. This is the closest period to October 2012, for all people and for ethnic minorities. Although individual components in the table can be produced for more recent periods, October 2012 is the latest period for which all component series are available.
	Estimates for Northern Ireland are not available.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance by length of claim, October 2012 
			 Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Claiming over 12 months Claiming over 2 years 
			 All people 412,900 129,580 
			 Ethnic Minorities(1) 70,740 22,215 
			 (1) Ethnic minorities are people who have reported their ethnicity as mixed/multiple ethnic groups; Indian; Pakistani; Bangladeshi; Chinese; Any other Asian background; Black/African/Caribbean/Black British; Other ethnic group. Note: Rounded to nearest 5 Source: Jobcentre plus Administrative System 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Percentage(1) of economically active people claiming jobseeker's allowance by length of claim, October 2012 
			 Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Claiming over 12 months Claiming over 2 years 
			 All people 1.3 0.4 
			 Ethnic Minorities(2) 2.0 0.6 
			 (1) Number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in October 2012 divided by the number of economically active people according to the September to November 2012 Labour Force Survey. (2) Ethnic minorities are people who have reported their as ethnicity mixed/multiple ethnic groups; Indian; Pakistani; Bangladeshi; Chinese; Any other Asian background; Black/African/Caribbean/Black British; Other ethnic group. Source: Jobcentre plus Administrative System/Labour Force Survey

Suicide

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many deaths registered in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012 were for suicides, as defined in the Office for National Statistics Statistical Bulletin Suicides in the UK, published in January 2013, which occurred in 2008; and how many such suicides were (i) men and (ii) men aged 45 years old or over;
	(2)  how many deaths registered in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, (d) 2010, (e) 2011 and (f) 2012 were of suicides, as defined in the Office for National Statistics Statistical Bulletin Suicides in the UK, published in January 2013, which occurred in 2007; and how many such suicides were (i) men and (ii) men aged 45 years old or over;
	(3)  how many deaths registered in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009, (e) 2010, (f) 2011 and (g) 2012 were of suicides, as defined in the Office for National Statistics Statistical Bulletin Suicides in the UK, published in January 2013, which occurred in 2006; and how many such suicides were (i) men and (ii) men aged 45 years old or over.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions. (142924) (142925) (142926)
	Tables 1, 2 and 3 provide the number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, in England and Wales, for deaths occurring in 2008 (Table 1), 2007 (Table 2) and 2006 (Table 3). Tables 4, 5 and 6 provide the number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of death registration, in England and Wales, for deaths occurring in 2008 (Table 4), 2007 (Table 5) and 2006 (Table 6). Figures are only available for deaths registered by 31 December 2011.
	The latest statistical bulletin released on 22 January 2013 contains a section on the impact of registration delays on suicide statistics. It reports that out of the 4,871 suicides registered in England and Wales in 2011, just under half occurred before 2011. Therefore, figures presented in this answer will not be consistent with figures in the ‘Suicides in the United Kingdom’ statistical bulletin, as the England and Wales figures contained in the bulletin are based on the year in which the death was registered, where as figures in this answer are based on the year in which a death occurred.
	Figures for suicides in the UK, England and Wales, and regions of England are published annually on the ONS website:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html? definition=tcm%3A77-29400
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2008(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides 
			 Registration year Males Females All persons 
			 2008 1,970 605 2,575 
			 2009 1,517 519 2,036 
			 2010 119 65 184 
			 2011 26 19 45 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for people aged 15 years and over. (3 )Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4 )Figures are for deaths occurring in 2008. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2007(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides 
			 Registration year Males Females All persons 
			 2007 1,848 552 2,400 
			 2008 1,392 441 1,833 
			 2009 133 46 179 
			 2010 39 14 53 
			 2011 18 3 21 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for people aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4 )Figures are for deaths occurring in 2007. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2006(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides 
			 Registration year Males Females All persons 
			 2006 1,941 609 2,550 
			 2007 1,314 414 1,728 
			 2008 100 45 145 
		
	
	
		
			 2009 15 3 18 
			 2010 16 3 19 
			 2011 6 2 8 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent—excluding Y33.9 where the coroner's verdict was pending for deaths registered in 2006. Deaths registered from 2007 onwards which were previously coded to Y33.9 are coded to U50.9.) (2) Figures are for people aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2006. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 4: Number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of registration, England and Wales, 2008(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides (males) 
			 Registration year 15 to 44 years 45 years and over All ages 
			 2008 1,024 946 1,970 
			 2009 814 703 1,517 
			 2010 72 47 119 
			 2011 20 6 26 
			 (1 )Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for males aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2008. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 5: Number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of registration, England and Wales, 2007(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides (males) 
			 Registration year 15 to 44 years 45 years and over All ages 
			 2007 933 915 1,848 
			 2008 760 632 1,392 
			 2009 89 44 133 
			 2010 20 19 39 
			 2011 14 4 18 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for males aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2007. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 6: Number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of registration, England and Wales, 2006(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides (males) 
			 Registration year 15 to 44 years 45 years and over All ages 
			 2006 955 986 1,941 
			 2007 757 557 1,314 
			 2008 68 32 100 
			 2009 12 3 15 
			 2010 11 5 16 
			 2011 5 1 6 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent—excluding Y33.9 where the coroner's verdict was pending for deaths registered in 2006. Deaths registered from 2007 onwards which were previously coded to Y33.9 are coded to U50.9). (2) Figures are for males aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2006.

Trident

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many meetings officials in his Department have attended on the Trident Alternatives Review.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	The total number of meetings held by officials working on the review is not centrally recorded and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Autism

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to increase employment opportunities for people with autism.

Esther McVey: The Work programme, launched on 10 June 2011 is the biggest single Welfare to Work programme. It provides more personalised back-to-work support for unemployed people, including disabled people.
	For disabled people with more complex needs which cannot be met through the Work programme, they can access a range of specialist disability employment provision.
	Work Choice provides tailored support to help disabled people who face the most complex barriers to employment find and stay in work. It ultimately helps them progress into unsupported employment, where it is appropriate for the individual. Work Choice is voluntary and available regardless of any benefits being claimed. Work Choice can provide an indefinite period of support once the customer is in work, unlike mainstream employment provision. This is in recognition of the fact that some Work Choice participants may need ongoing support to overcome barriers in work that cannot be met through normal workplace adjustments.
	From July 2012 we have introduced the Work Choice wage incentive which is a payment worth up to £2,275 that an employer can claim where they employ an 18 to 24-year-old from Work Choice for at least 26 weeks.
	Access to Work provides additional support for individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. It provides individuals and their employers with advice and support with extra costs which may arise because of an individual's needs. The type of support Access to Work provides can include transport to work, support workers and specialist adaptations and equipment.
	All staff have access to the Hidden Impairment Toolkit, which provides practical advice and guidance on how best to support individuals, including those with autism, into employment. This approach enables the anticipation of reasonable adjustments at appropriate stages of the individual's journey to work. A number of staff in DWP undertake training specifically covering autism, and how this affects individuals.
	In 2012 the Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord Freud, launched the guide “Untapped Talent; A guide for employing people with Autism”, which has been co- produced by the National Autistic Society, the Employers Roundtable members and DWP. This guide provides employers with useful information about employing people with autism, as well as providing insights into the experiences of employers and guidance for managers around the interview process, job adverts and the working environment.

Carer’s Allowance: Armed Forces

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) members and (b) former members of the armed forces have had their carer's allowance reduced since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Crisis Loans

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the total value was of crisis loans awarded in each local authority area in each year from 2009;
	(2)  how many applications were accepted for a crisis loan in each local authority area in each year from 2009.

Steve Webb: The above information is contained in three tables covering each year: 2009-10; 2010-11; and 2011-12. The number of applications that were accepted for a crisis loan is given under the heading “awards”.
	We will place these tables in the Library in one document named:
	Library Document142242-3
	Note:
	The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National Statistics and there are some issues with the data. For example, it does not include applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2013, Official Report, column 1019W, on employment schemes, how many recipients of (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) employment and support allowance have undertaken (i) pre-employment training, (ii) work experience and (iii) an interview with an employer through sector-based work academies since their establishment.

Mark Hoban: For official statistics purposes, a sector-based work academy start is defined and recorded as the first date the claimant attended the pre-employment training element. Work experience and a guaranteed job interview typically follow pre-employment training. Given this, pre-employment training will show a higher number of starts than for the other components as participants either leave the scheme, for example into work, or have yet to progress to work experience or an interview within the reporting period.
	The latest published official statistics covered pre-employment training starts between August 2011 and May 2012. The following table shows starts for each of the three components for claimants on jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance (work related activity group) for the same period.
	
		
			  Pre-employment training starts Work experience placement starts Guaranteed job interview starts 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 14,330 8,340 6,810 
			 Employment and Support Allowance (work related activity group) 40 20 20 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. The figures for PET starts to not match the August Official Statistics publication as a more updated dataset has been used, retrospection may be observed. Sources: 1. DWP LMS opportunities evaluation database December 2012. 2. National Benefit Database September 2012.

Employment: Young People

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the advertising budget for Youth Contract wage incentives for 2012-13 is.

Mark Hoban: In 2012-13, the Department has spent £66,937.22 (excluding VAT) on a pilot advertising campaign in 10 youth unemployment hotspots.
	This expenditure supplemented no-cost communications techniques which allowed us to extend the reach of our message, such as social media and working with partners such as the British Chambers of Commerce to disseminate our messages.
	The budget reflects the cost of developing press and radio adverts and advertising, and will help understand the most effective way of encouraging small employers to give young people an opportunity.

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mean average spend using a Government Procurement Card was per member of staff in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arm's length bodies in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012.

Mark Hoban: Government Procurement Cards (GPC) are held by some appropriate staff across DWP and its arm's length bodies to make low value purchases. Currently there are 545 cards held by DWP staff.
	The average annual spend per GPC holder per year in DWP was:
	(i) for 2011—£5,980.63
	(ii) for 2012—£6,651.93
	The average annual spend per GPC holder for each of DWP's arm's length bodies (ALBs) is as follows, along with the number of active cards held in brackets at the end of 2012:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2011 2012 
			 Pension Protection Fund (4) 37,661.91 30,604.91 
			 Pensions Ombudsman (3) 1,110.58 2,453.17 
			 National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) Corporation (6) 23,889.06 17,330.29 
			 Health and Safety Executive (63) 49,023.55 30,667.43 
		
	
	Social Security Advisory Committee only held one card and figures are included in DWP spend.
	The following ALBs do not hold GPCs:
	Equality 2025; Industrial Injuries Advisory Council; Independent Living Fund; Remploy Ltd; The Pensions Advisory Service; and The Pensions Regulator.

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance or instructions have been issued to staff in (a) his Department and (b) its arm's length bodies about the timing of the publication of data relating to spend over (i) £25,000 and (ii) £500 using the Government Procurement Card.

Mark Hoban: The Government commitment to greater transparency was set out in the Prime Minister's letter to all central Government Departments and their arm's length bodies in May 2010.
	Treasury guidance, in relation to spend over £25,000, was published in 2010 and issued to all central Government Departments and their arm's length bodies.
	Treasury guidance relating to central Government Departments:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/government_spend_guide_ 2012.pdf
	And for arm's length bodies:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/guidance_albs_2012.pdf
	From October 2011 onwards, central Departments also committed to publishing Government Procurement Card (GPC) transactions over £500. Cabinet Office guidance was issued to all central Departments and NDPBs which identified the information to be published and the time scales for publishing the data on a monthly basis, two months in arrears.

Housing Benefit

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households claiming for housing benefit for a property with two or more bedrooms, in which the number of people living in the property was reduced over the course of the year due to the death of one of the occupants in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	Where there is a death in the family prior to 1 April 2013 then size criteria will not apply for a period up to 12 months from that date of death.
	Where there is a death in the family on or after 1 April 2013 the eligible rent that will be considered will be either the current calculation or that based on the remaining household composition whichever is higher for a period of up to 12 months from the date of death.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the overall level of rent arrears amongst housing benefit recipients in (a) 2014, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016.

Steve Webb: No such estimate has been made.

Housing Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy that women's refuges will be deemed to be exempt accommodation under existing housing benefit rules and the benefit cap and other future welfare reform.

Steve Webb: Those refuges that satisfy the definition of "exempt accommodation" in housing benefit legislation will continue to have help with their rents decided under existing housing benefit rules.
	These cases will be exempt from the under-occupancy charge and the help given towards rent will be disregarded in the benefit cap calculation.
	The local authority will continue to decide which refuges satisfy that definition on the facts of each case.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of housing benefit recipients who live in exempt accommodation.

Steve Webb: The information required is not available.
	The most recent information on the number of people in supported “exempt accommodation” was in the DWP consultation document “‘Exempt' and supported accommodation” published in December 2010.

Housing Benefit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what advice his Department is providing to households affected by the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty in the social rented sector in April 2013;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to prepare and inform affected individuals in advance of the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty in the social rented sector in April 2013.

Steve Webb: The local authorities who are delivering this measure and the social landlords whose tenants will be affected have a crucial role in communicating this change to the individuals concerned, and my Department is working with both to facilitate this.
	My Department has been working with local authorities to advise them how people can be contacted and provided them with letter templates and fact-sheets. Frequently asked questions and answers have also been made available on the “Advisers and Intermediaries” pages of the DWP website for advice organisations to use if they wish, along with general information about the change and local authority guidance.
	In addition to this both my Department and the Department for Communities and Local Government have worked closely with the Chartered Institute of Housing who has produced “Making it Fit”, a guidance manual on the under-occupancy measure specifically aimed at social landlords.

Housing Benefit: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those who receive housing benefit in Wales are female.

Steve Webb: The information requested for the proportion of those who receive housing benefit in Wales are female, can be obtained from a new visualisation tool, Stat-Xplore, at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool

Jobcentre Plus

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether jobcentres use a standard instrument for diagnostic screening of weaknesses in English and mathematics skills.

Mark Hoban: Skills screening to identify potential skills needs, including literacy and numeracy, is an integral part of every Work Focused Interview conducted by Jobcentre Advisers. Screening involves gathering evidence through questioning, observation and analysis of existing qualifications and work history, to make an informed decision on whether claimants would benefit from a more in-depth diagnostic assessment with a Skills Provider.
	Advisers have the option to use a standard screening tool to assist with the identification of potential skills needs where they feel this would help identify less obvious needs.

Jobcentre Plus

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the Jobcentre Plus mathematics and English screening process is evaluated.

Mark Hoban: Skills screening, which identifies potential literacy and numeracy needs along with other skills needs, is an integral part of Work Targeted Interviews which have been extensively evaluated using qualitative techniques. However, there has been no separate evaluation of the mathematics and English screening process.

Jobcentre Plus

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria were used by jobcentre staff to select benefit claimants for screening to identify weaknesses in English and mathematics skills in 2012.

Mark Hoban: All claimants are screened for potential skills needs including literacy and numeracy as part of their Work Targeted Interviews with Jobcentre Advisers, commencing at their initial interview at the beginning of their claim to benefit. Screening is an integral part of adviser interviews with claimants and is based on gathering evidence to make informed decisions on whether further assessment with a skills provider is appropriate.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 95W, on employment schemes: disability, how many disability employment advisers were employed in Jobcentre Plus in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Mark Hoban: The following table contains the number of disability advisers employed in Jobcentre Plus in the requested periods.
	
		
			 Financial years FTE 
			 2010-11 501 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 556 
			 2012-13 522

Occupational Pensions

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to make the public aware of the benefits of making contributions additional to those made as a result of autoenrolment; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The introduction of automatic enrolment represents a major behavioural change. We estimate it will lead to 6 million to 9 million people saving for the first time or saving more into a workplace pension, generating £11 billion a year more in workplace pension saving by 2019-20. For many, this is the first time they will have access to workplace pension saving, and a contribution from their employer.
	We have been clear in public information that 8% is a minimum amount and we are keen for people to save more if they can. However, our priority is the successful roll out of automatic enrolment and it is important to encourage people to start saving before suggesting that they save more. That is why minimum contributions are being phased in over six years to help both employers and individuals adjust gradually to the additional costs of saving. Phasing is not compulsory, and employers and individuals may contribute more than the minimum requirement at any time.
	In addition, as set out in our recent reinvigoration strategy, we will be exploring mechanisms to increase savings, such as the “Automatic Escalation” schemes which have been successful in the US—these encourage people to commit to increasing their contributions at a future date, often in line with wage increases.

Pension Credit

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of pensioners who are not currently claiming pension credit for which they are eligible.

Steve Webb: The most recent estimates of take-up cover the period 2009-10. Figures for the number of pensioners entitled to but not receiving pension credit in Great Britain in 2009-10 are presented below:
	
		
			 Caseload take-up for pension credit, Great Britain, 2009-10 
			  Range of entitled non-recipients (Thousand) Take-up ranges (%) 
			 2009-10 1,210 : 1,580 62 : 68 
		
	
	The Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up report covers Great Britain for the financial year 2009-10. It provides caseload and expenditure estimates of take-up for income support and employment and support allowance (income-related), pension credit, housing benefit (including local housing allowance), council tax benefit and jobseeker's allowance (income-based). The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 10 June 2010. The figures are available online and can be found here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb

Pensions: Widowed People

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 714W, on pensions: widowed people, whether he intends to inform victims or their estates of the flawed legislation following the judgment in the case of Alma Yates v. the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Steve Webb: There are no affected persons or estates to inform of the flaw in the relevant legislation, which gave rise to the court's decision in the case of Alma Yates v. the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This is because, in cases like that of the late Mrs Yates, where a court finds that a decision made by the Department contained an error of law, the Department's liability in respect of people in an analogous position is restricted to periods following the court's ruling.
	As the flaw in the relevant legislation which gave rise to the court's decision was removed before the court found in the late Mrs Yates' favour, the court's decision has no prospective application.

Personal Independence Payment

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the effects will be of personal independence payment reform on people in receipt of carer's allowance by 2018.

Esther McVey: Latest available information shows that there are over 1 million people with an established entitlement to carer's allowance (CA)(1). The Department has made information concerning the effect of personal independence payment (PIP) on people in receipt of CA in October 2015 available on its website.
	(1) DWP Longitudinal Study, February 2012.
	Latest estimates project there will be a net reduction of 9,000 recipients of CA (where benefit is in payment) by the end of 2018 as a consequence of reassessment for PIP.

Poverty: Disability

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and (b) the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill on the number of disabled people living in relative poverty.

Steve Webb: holding answer 6 February132013
	Impact assessments have been published for Welfare Reform Act policies where impacts have been identified and have been updated where impacts have changed.
	The Government strongly believe that looking at relative income in isolation is not a helpful measure for tracking progress on poverty, which is why the Government are currently consulting on a measure of child poverty that will better reflect the reality of living in poverty in the UK today. More information is provided in the answer given to the hon. Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore) on 15 January 2013, Official Report, columns 715-7W (PQ 137238). In relation to the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill, we have protected disability and carer benefits wherever possible by ensuring that the main rates of disability living allowance, attendance allowance and carer's allowance will be up-rated in line with inflation. In addition, the premiums paid to disabled people receiving working-age income-related benefits, the disability elements in tax credits, and the support component of employment and support allowance will all similarly be up-rated in line with inflation.
	We estimate that around an extra 50,000 disabled individuals will be considered to be in poverty under the relative income measure as a result of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill. We also estimate that the average change for households containing a disabled person will be around -£3 a week.
	As earnings growth and inflation projections change these estimates will change. For example, the recession led to a fall in the relative poverty line, which had the effect of lifting 300,000 children out of relative poverty. These impacts are not forecasts of the level of poverty and do not indicate what will happen to trends over time. It is misleading to look at the impacts of up-rating in isolation.
	Note
	Poverty figures are rounded to the nearest 50,000

Rented Housing: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the flexibility of the housing rental market in rural Wales in response to the consequences of his planned introduction of the under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: Data to do a full assessment of the flexibility of the housing market in rural Wales to respond to the consequences of the measure are not available.
	The impacts that have been estimated for Wales indicate that a number of options are available to recipients of housing benefit who are affected, although how individuals will respond is not yet known.
	The measure will be monitored and evaluated over the next two years and this will include small scale primary research with a range of local authorities, social landlords and voluntary organisations, including those in Wales. As part of this supply issues and rural factors will be examined.
	The initial report will be available in 2014. The final report will be published in late 2015.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will (a) bring forward legislative proposals and (b) amend his Department's guidance so that the Social Security Regulations apply to all 12 living or mobility activities.

Esther McVey: We have always been clear that a key principle of the personal independence payment assessment is that it should include a consideration of whether individuals can complete activities in a manner that is safe, repeatable, to an acceptable standard and timely. We do not feel that this principle has to be included in the legislation to be effective. However, recognising the strength of feeling in relation to this key protection, the Government have agreed to include it in regulations. We will lay amending regulations making this change, once the current regulations have been made and before the PIP regulations come into force from 8 April.
	This will apply to all 10 daily living and two mobility activities in the personal independence payment assessment.
	A draft of the amending regulation is available on the DWP website at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/disability/personal-independence-payment/the-assessment-criteria

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount of benefit fraud procured through the victims of human trafficking.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the total value of fraudulently claimed benefit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) South Lanarkshire in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The estimated amount of money lost through benefit fraud in Great Britain can be found on the DWP National Statistics Fraud and Error in the Benefit System webpage
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd2/index.php?page=fraud_error
	For the last five years the estimated level of benefit fraud was as follows:
	
		
			  Amount (£ billion) Percentage of benefit expenditure 
			 2011-12 1.2 0.7 
			 2010-11 1.2 0.8 
			 2009-10 1.1 0.8 
			 2008-09 1.0 0.8 
			 2007-08 0.8 0.6 
		
	
	Northern Ireland fraud and error estimates, which are comparable to the above Great Britain statistics, can be found at:
	http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/publications/annual_reports/publications-ssa-annual-reports.htm
	Scotland and South Lanarkshire fraud and error estimates are not available.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are currently earning benefits in the second state pension which would result in a state-provided pension greater than £144 if they retired after 2017 under the current proposals to move to a single-tier pension.

Steve Webb: Individuals who have a national insurance record of more than the full single-tier pension at the point of implementation will get the full level of the single-tier pension, and keep any amount above this as a “protected payment” when they reach state pension age.
	Those currently earning benefits in the state second pension are likely to reach state pension age over the course of the next half century. Of those reaching state pension age between 2017 and 2060, the latest year for which we project outcomes, the Department's modelling suggests that around 5% will receive a full single-tier pension and a “protected payment”.
	Source:
	DWP modelling based on PENSIM2

Telephone Services

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate the potential cost to the public purse of making public contact numbers operated by his Department an 0345 prefix service;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the feasibility of making public contact telephone numbers operated by his Department an 0345 prefix service.

Mark Hoban: It is feasible to migrate DWP contact numbers to an 0345 prefix. Based on current charging arrangements, our analysis shows that the impacts of such a change would be increased call costs for many callers and additional costs to DWP of around £2 million per annum. There would also be significant operational costs to support an initial transition to the new numbers. We will review our numbering strategy on receipt of Ofcom's final report following their consultation on non-geographic call charges, which is understood to be due for publication in March. Any changes to the current approach will need careful consideration given the impacts on costs to the Department and its customers.

Travel and Subsistence Payments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many senior officials in his Department's arm's-length bodies (a) have and (b) have had during 2012-13 terms of employment that specify that their main place of employment is their home address and that they are entitled to claim travel and subsistence expenses for visiting the offices of the arm's-length body.

Mark Hoban: No senior officials in this Department's arm's-length bodies have or have had during 2012-13 terms of employment that specify that their main place of employment is their home address.

Unemployment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the contribution of corporate social responsibility to tackling long-term unemployment.

Mark Hoban: Employers all over the country are already making a valuable contribution to helping unemployed people back to work through work clubs and by offering work experience places, internships, training, jobs, and apprenticeships. Corporate responsibility may be one motivation for employers doing this, but many employers believe it makes good business sense to offer unemployed people the practical help they need to get back into the labour market. Ministers across Departments continue to encourage more businesses to get involved in providing support to unemployed people and to see this as a way of developing their future workforce.

Unemployment: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to tackle unemployment in ethnic minority communities.

Mark Hoban: Our approach is to support people according to their individual needs and circumstances rather than segregate people according to ethnicity. That is why we have introduced personalised support, through the Work programme, the Youth Contract and Get Britain Working measures.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people diagnosed with or suffering from any of the following conditions (a) being both blind and deaf, (b) being registered blind, (c) Alzheimer's, (d) amputation of both legs, (e) Asperger's, (f) autistic spectrum disorder and autism, (g) cerebral palsy, (h) dementia, (i) hemiplegia, (j) Huntingdon's Chorea, (k) Korsakoff's psychosis, (l) requiring a Macmillan nurse attending, (m) motor neurone disease, (n) the need to be on oxygen, (o) paraplegia, (p) quadraplegia renal dialysis, (q) severe mental impairment, (r) severe learning difficulty, (s) spastic diplega, (t) tetraplegia, (u) total parenteral nutrition, (v) unstable angina and (w) Wernicke's encephalopathy underwent a work capability assessment at an Atos centre in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2013.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the number of face-to-face initial work capability assessments by primary medical condition reported for selected medical conditions completed in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Data for 2012 cover assessments completed between January to August 2012, the latest data available.
	
		
			 Number of initial WCAs completed by medical condition and year of assessment 
			 Health Condition 2010 2011 2012 
			 Unspecified dementia 90 40 30 
			 Alcohol related disorders (including Korsakoff's psychosis) 11,080 8,340 6,390 
			 Autistic spectrum disorder and autism (including Asperger's) 700 550 460 
			 Huntingdon's Chorea 90 50 30 
			 Spinal muscular atrophy and related syndromes (including Motor Neurone Disease) 50 30 10 
			 Alzheimer's 40 40 20 
			 Cerebral palsy (including spastic diplega) 450 360 240 
			 Hemiplegia 70 50 20 
			 Flaccid paraplegia (including paraplegia and tetraplegia) 70 50 40 
			 Angina pectoris (including unstable angina) 2,080 1,460 1,110 
			 Note: Rounding: All volumes are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration datasets. 
		
	
	Categories where there are no recorded cases, or where data are not available, have been omitted from the table.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the cost to his Department of appeals against the work capability assessment between April and September 2012.

Mark Hoban: For the first half of 2012-13 financial year (April to September) for the cost of appeals related to work capability assessment is £11.3 million for DWP in respect of staff costs of employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment appeals.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local authorities are included in the Work programme supply chain.

Mark Hoban: Organisations listed in the Work programme supply chain, including local authorities, are published on the Department's website and can be viewed at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wp-supply-chains.xls

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons participants on the Work programme are debarred from the New Enterprise Allowance scheme.

Mark Hoban: The new enterprise allowance (NEA) is not available to Work programme participants however Work programme providers are free to support their claimants to set up a business.
	A core principle of the Work programme is that providers are free to offer the interventions they feel are right for the individual, at the right time. This includes providing support and advice on self employment where it is the right option for the individual.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseekers have been receiving jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) 12 months and (b) two years; and what proportion of the workforce that represents in each such case.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your two Parliamentary Questions asking how many ethnic minority jobseekers have been receiving jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) 12 months and (b) two years, and what proportion of the ethnic minority workforce that represents in each such case; and secondly how many jobseekers have been receiving jobseeker's allowance for more than (a) 12 months and (b) two years, and what proportion of the workforce that represents in each such case. (142321 & 142322)
	The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) has been taken from the Jobcentre Plus Administrative system. The estimates of the number of people in the workforce have been taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The workforce has been defined as all those who are economically active, that is either employed or unemployed.
	Table 1 shows the number of people in Great Britain, as at October 2012, who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months and for over 2 years, for all people and for ethnic minorities.
	Table 2 shows the number of people in Great Britain claiming JSA as a percentage of people who were economically active, according to survey responses to the September 2012 to November 2012 LFS. This is the closest period to October 2012, for all people and for ethnic minorities. Although individual components in the table can be produced for more recent periods, October 2012 is the latest period for which all component series are available.
	Estimates for Northern Ireland are not available.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance by length of claim, October 2012 
			 Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Claiming over 12 months Claiming over 2 years 
			 All people 412,900 129,580 
			 Ethnic Minorities(1) 70,740 22,215 
			 (1) Ethnic minorities are people who have reported their ethnicity as mixed/ multiple ethnic groups; Indian; Pakistani; Bangladeshi; Chinese; Any other Asian background; Black/African/Caribbean/Black British; Other ethnic group. Note: Rounded to nearest 5 Source: Jobcentre plus Administrative System 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Percentage(1) of economically active people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance by length of claim, October 2012 
			 Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Claiming over 12 months Claiming over 2 years 
			 All people 1.3 0.4 
			 Ethnic Minorities(2) 2.0 0.6 
			 (1) Number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in October 2012 divided by the number of economically active people according to the September to November 2012 Labour Force Survey. (2) Ethnic minorities are people who have reported their as ethnicity mixed/ multiple ethnic groups; Indian; Pakistani; Bangladeshi; Chinese; Any other Asian background; Black/African/Caribbean/Black British; Other ethnic group. Source: Jobcentre plus Administrative System/ Labour Force Survey

HEALTH

Abortion

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that doctors and licensed abortion clinics do not intentionally misreport the reasons for which abortions are being performed;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the Eurocat Report on misreporting by doctors of the grounds upon which abortions are performed; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: An abortion may only take place on grounds under the Abortion Act 1967, as amended. Anyone operating outside of the Act is committing a criminal offence and will be reported to the appropriate authorities. Ultimately, it is for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to prosecute individuals and for the courts to determine whether there has been a breach of the law on abortion.
	In February 2012, the Chief Medical Officer wrote to everyone involved in providing and commissioning treatment for the termination of pregnancy about the need to comply fully with all the requirements of the Abortion Act 1967.
	Regarding the statistics published in the Eurocat Report and potential discrepancies with the abortion statistics published by the Department of Health, we have no evidence that doctors are misreporting abortions, and the discrepancies in the data are in part due to the way the various statistics are compiled. Eurocat have issued a statement to say that their data has been interpreted incorrectly. For example, departmental statistics on fetal abnormality are compiled and published based on the principal medical condition, while Eurocat report all counts of a specific medical condition. We are looking further at other possible reasons for the differences in published statistics.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the downgrade of Lewisham accident and emergency department on the role of King’s College Hospital as a major trauma centre in the event of a major or regional disaster.

Anna Soubry: The trust special administrator’s report made clear that there should be an additional £37 million of investment at King’s and the three other hospitals so that they are properly resourced to take on the additional activity from Lewisham. No transfer of activity will take place without work to increase capacity having taken place across all four sites. Providers will need to develop business cases which will refine their requirements. The final decisions on funding for each individual hospital will be worked through as part of the implementation planning process, in collaboration with the Department to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which accident and emergency departments in London provide 24-hour consultant cover seven days a week.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is not centrally held. The hon. Member may wish to contact individual hospital trusts for further information.

Alcoholic Drinks: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alcohol-related hospital admissions there were in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make an assessment of those figures compared to the UK averages for such admissions.

Anna Soubry: The number of alcohol-related hospital admissions in (a) Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency of residence, (b) Yorkshire and Humber strategic health authority (SHA) of residence and (c) residents of England, for the year 2007-08 to 2011-12 are found in the following table.
	
		
			 Alcohol-related hospital admissions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Brigg and Goole constituency n/a 1,601 1,897 2,090 2,167 
			 Yorkshire and Humber SHA 85,503 91,393 105,789 120,057 126,965 
			 England 855,229 940,403 1,052,068 1,163,565 1,215,083 
			 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	As comparison, Office for National Statistics population estimates and crude rate per 100,000 population in (a) Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency of residence, (b) Yorkshire and Humber SHA of residence and (c) residents of England, for the year 2007-08 to 2011-12 are found in the following tables.
	
		
			 Population estimates 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Brigg and Goole constituency 84,500 84,800 84,900 85,200 n/a 
			 Yorkshire and Humber SHA 5,181,800 5,217,500 5,258,100 5,301,300 5,228,200 
			 England 51,106,200 51,464,600 51,809,700 52,234,000 53,107,200 
			 Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS). 
		
	
	
		
			 Crude rate per 100,000 population 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Brigg and Goole constituency n/a 1,888 2,235 2,453 n/a 
			 Yorkshire and Humber SHA 1,611 1,752 2,012 2,265 2,401 
			 England 1,673 1,827 2,031 2,228 2,288 
			 Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Aluminium: Health Hazards

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research his Department has commissioned or evaluated on the relative harm caused by ingesting aluminium by (a) digestion and (b) directly into the bloodstream;
	(2)  if he will publish any data held by his Department on the possibility of aluminium in the cervarix form of HPV vaccine crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Norman Lamb: The Food Standards Agency, the non-Ministerial Government Department with responsibility for food safety, has drawn attention to the fact that aluminium is ubiquitous in the environment and is therefore inherently present in food. While higher levels can have neurotoxic effects, both the European Food Safety Authority and the World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives have considered the safety of aluminium in food and established a Tolerable Weekly Intake. This takes into account the very low absorption of aluminium from food into the body.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has responsibility for vaccine and medicines safety in the United Kingdom. The Government's independent expert advisory Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) advises MHRA on the safety of medicines and vaccines. The MHRA has been keeping the safety of Cervarix human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine under continual close monitoring since it was first used in the UK in September 2008. After the first two years of the immunisation programme and more recently in September 2012 after the fourth year, the MHRA sought the advice of the CHM on the safety experience of Cervarix. The CHM advised that after 6 million doses of the vaccine in the UK the number and nature of adverse reaction reports was as expected, no serious new risks had been identified and agreed that the balance of its benefits and risks remains positive. This report is available on the MHRA website:
	www.mhra.gov.uk/HPVvaccine

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the World Health Organisation's classification of chronic fatigue syndrome as a neurological disease; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) classifies chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) under neurological disorders at Reference 93.3 and uses the terms post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVS) and benign myalgic encephalomyelitis. The Department accepts this classification and recognises CFS/ME as a neurological condition of unknown origin.
	As the symptoms of CFS/ME resemble those of other forms of debilitating illness, we acknowledge that it is not easy to diagnose single cases of the condition. Clinicians are responsible, within their area of competence, for diagnosing medical conditions and it is not the Department's policy to advise the medical profession on clinical practice.

Disability

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to allow disabled people with (a) speech and (b) learning difficulties to actively express their views on their disabilities in NHS workshops.

Norman Lamb: As listed public authorities, local national health service organisations must, in exercising all of their functions, pay due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010, advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not, and promote good community relations. This includes taking steps to engage with their communities comprehensively and meaningfully in the planning and delivery of local services. In doing so, NHS organisations must adhere to the statutory duty to make reasonable adjustment for disabled people which may require providing auxiliary aids or alternative means of communication.
	NHS bodies including primary care trusts, strategic health authorities, NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts are required by section 242 of the NHS Act 2006 to make arrangements for service users to be involved in the planning, development and operation of health services.
	It falls on the NHS body to make specific arrangements as required to hear the voice of service users regardless of any specific disability. Many good NHS organisations have diverse experience of involving and listening to the views of service users with speech and learning disabilities, as well as carers and voluntary organisations that represent the views of people with disabilities. As from 1 April 2013, commissioners’ duty to involve patients and the public will be covered by the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
	Departmental officials are subject to the same duty and are required to consider the evidence around the accessibility of their work and take proportionate and reasonable steps to engage with people sharing all relevant protected characteristics during the decision making and dissemination process.
	The Department funds two representatives, and their supporters, from the National Forum of People with Learning Disabilities to attend the national Learning Disability Programme Board chaired by myself. The Department also holds a pre-meeting of the board for members with learning disabilities and family carers.

Disability Aids

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research has been undertaken on behalf of his Department on the advantages of using a ceiling hoist in residential care homes for the elderly when safely moving and handling residents.

Norman Lamb: No recent research has been undertaken on behalf of the Department on the advantages of using ceiling hoists in residential care homes.
	Regulation 16 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, against which the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects and regulates care providers, requires that suitable arrangements must be made to protect service users by ensuring that equipment provided for the purposes of the carrying on of a regulated activity is properly maintained, suitable for its purpose and used correctly.
	Failure to meet the registration requirements is an offence and the CQC has a range of enforcement powers that it can use to protect users of health and adult social care services.

Disability Aids

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research has been undertaken on behalf of his Department on the advantages of using a ceiling hoist on hospital wards when safely moving and handling patients.

Daniel Poulter: Although the Department is not aware of any formal research in this area, it is widely understood that the most suitable equipment for hoisting, both in terms of the safety and comfort of the individual patient or resident and the safety of staff, will depend on the individual patient or resident's needs and environmental considerations. Ceiling hoists may be feasible and appropriate in some circumstances, but not in all. The Health and Safety Executive has issued a range of advice on this topic, which can be viewed at the following link.
	www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsis3.pdf

Epilepsy

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women are receiving prescriptions for anti-epileptic medicines through the NHS.

Norman Lamb: This information is not collected centrally.

Food

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the performance of staff in residential care homes in monitoring whether residents are able to eat and drink independently.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for registering, inspecting and regulating providers of health and adult social care in England. All such providers are required to register with the CQC and to comply with regulations governing the safety and quality of services.
	Regulation 14 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 requires providers to provide suitable and nutritious food and hydration in sufficient quantities, to meet reasonable requirements arising from a person's religious or cultural background and to provide support, where needed, with eating and drinking.
	Failure to meet this registration requirement is an offence and the CQC has a range of enforcement powers that it can use to protect people from receiving inadequate nutrition and hydration from providers of health and adult social care services.
	In 2012, the CQC undertook an inspection programme, focused on dignity and nutrition, of 500 care and nursing homes. The CQC will publish its report of the findings of the programme in spring.

Food

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the performance of NHS staff in monitoring whether patients are able to eat and drink independently.

Daniel Poulter: It is right that patients should be treated with dignity and respect. They have the right to expect food that is of high quality and that is nutritious. There are many hospitals already achieving high standards in food and nutrition.
	Patients should expect to receive food and drink that is nutritious and appetising, from a varied menu that includes suitable options for vegetarians and those with religious needs. Food and drink should be available to all patients at all times, unless it contradicts clinical advice.
	In October 2012, the Secretary of State for Health announced new standards setting out what patients should expect from national health service hospital food and drink. Following the piloting at a small sample, of hospitals, a set of basic principles covering the quality of food and nutritional content will be introduced from April 2013.
	Teams of assessors, half of whom must be patients, will conduct patient-led assessments (PLACE) of the care environment. This will consider cleanliness, privacy and dignity as well as the state of the hospital environment in general.
	Hospitals will be marked down if food is poor quality, if menus do not have suitable options for patients with special requirements, and if hot meals are not provided in the evenings. Hospitals will receive a rating on each area, and the results will be published online.
	Patients deserve the highest quality of care and hospitals should be prepared to regularly evaluate their food service. Through patient-led assessments, we will identify good practice and put people at the heart of improving the NHS.

Health

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made in measuring social connectedness as an indicator of improving the wider determinants of health and including it in future public health outcomes framework updates; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The social connectedness indicator originally included in the Public Health Outcomes Framework was refined in the November 2012 refresh of the framework to be a measure of social isolation. This indicator will be shared with the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework. It has been initially established as an interim measure of social isolation; as current data sources only allow measurement in adults currently in receipt of social care services and their carers. However, we are working to develop a broader population-based measure of loneliness, which would be included in both the Adult Social Care and Public Health Outcome Frameworks. To ensure that this measure is helpful to local commissioners, we are working with key partners—including the Campaign to End Loneliness—on its development.

Heart Diseases: Babies

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the use of pulse oximetry tests to detect undiagnosed heart conditions in newborn babies;
	(2)  if his Department has any plans to include pulse oximetry tests in the national screening programme for newborn babies.

Daniel Poulter: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria.
	The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence for newborn screening for heart conditions using pulse oximetry against its criteria. A public consultation on the screening review will open shortly. Ministers expect to receive a recommendation from the UK NSC later this year.

Heart Diseases: Children

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts established to make a decision on the future of paediatric cardiac services were subject to the requirements of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960.

Anna Soubry: Primary care trusts are bodies to which the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 applies, and where primary care trusts exercise their functions jointly with other primary care trusts (by means of forming a committee to do so or otherwise) they remain subject to that Act.
	The Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts in their paper ‘The creation of a Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts for the purposes of formal public consultation and decision making about the provision of paediatric cardiac surgery services in England’ state that its standing orders will ensure compliance with the 1960 Act.

Heart Diseases: Children

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts gave formal consideration to the submission to the public consultation on the Safe and Sustainable Review of paediatric cardiac services produced by the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Yorkshire and the Humber.

Anna Soubry: The Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital heart services was a national health service review, independent of Government. The consideration given to responses to the public consultation on the review is a matter for the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts.
	In these circumstances, and given legal proceedings and a review by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel are under way, it would not be appropriate to comment further.

Horses: Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 903-04W, on horses: slaughterhouses, at which abattoirs the two as-yet-untraced horses which tested positive for phenylbutazone (Bute) were slaughtered.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Date sample collected Establishment name where sample was collected Country Establishment number Location of carcase after confirmed non-compliance for phenylbutazone Food Standards Agency (FSA) action 
			 21 May 2012 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd England 4185 Netherlands FSA has contacted the European Commission (EC) Rapid Alert system for Feed and Food (RASFF) team 
			 10 October 2012 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd England 8231 France FSA has contacted the EC RASFF team

Horses: Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which abattoirs were positive tests for phenylbutazone in horse meat conducted in the last three years; and how many (a) samples were collected and (b) positive samples were found at each such abattoir.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			    Number 
			 Establishment name Establishment number Country Samples collected to be tested for phenylbutazone Samples that tested positive for phenylbutazone 
			    2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 
			 G & GB Hewitt Ltd 4140 England 3 0 0 0 0 0 
			 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd 4185 England 15 16 45 0 0 3 
			 Peter Boddy 2163 England 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Yorkshire Country Meats 2238 England 0 0 4 0 0 0 
			 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 England 43 48 95 5 1 6 
			 Oakdale 9080 Northern Ireland 0 11 13 0 0 0 
			 Notes: 1. Yorkshire Country Meats (2238) ceased processing horses in September 2012. 2. Information for 2012 relates to both the Veterinary Medicines Directorate National Surveillance Scheme and the FSA Survey.

Horses: Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many horses were slaughtered at each abattoir in the UK in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Establishment name Establishment number Country Number of horses slaughtered in each abattoir in the United Kingdom 
			    2010 2011 2012 
			 G & GB Hewitt Ltd 4140 England 63 1 131 
			 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd 4185 England 5,095 4,716 4,337 
			 Peter Boddy 2163 England 0 0 44 
			 Yorkshire Country Meats 2238 England 0 418 613 
			 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 England 2,761 2,977 3,301 
			 Oakdale 9080 Northern Ireland 935 899 979 
			 Note: Yorkshire Country Meats (2238) ceased processing horses in September 2012.

Horses: Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 903-4W, on horses: slaughterhouses, when each positive sample was collected; and when the positive results were reported to the Food Standards Agency. [Official Report, 1 March 2013, Vol. 559, c. 9-10MC.]

Anna Soubry: The information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Establishment where sample was collected Establishment no. Year When was sample collected that tested positive for phenylbutazone When was positive sample reported to the Food Standards Agency 
			 1 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2010 24 February 2012 22 April 2010 
			 2 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2010 24 February 2012 22 April 2010 
			 3 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2010 21 April 2012 28 June 2010 
			 4 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2010 14 April 2010 25 June 2010 
			 5 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2010 19 May 2012 22 September 2010 
			 6 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2011 8 June 2011 29 June 2011 
			 7 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd 4185 2012 26 July 2012 4 February 2013 
			 8 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2012 25 April 2012 6 June 2012 
			 9 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2012 18 January 2012 15 February 2012 
			 10 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2012 21 March 2012 11 May 2012 
			 11 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2012 10 October 2012 4 February 2013 
			 12 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2012 1 August 2012 16 August 2012 
			 13 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd 4185 2012 3 August 2012 22 August 2012 
			 14 Stillmans (Somerset) Ltd 8231 2012 8 August 2012 22 August 2012 
			 15 High Peak Meat Exports Ltd 4185 2012 13 September 2012 27 September 2012

Horses: Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether horse carcases which have been tested for the presence of phenylbutazone at the point of slaughter will be detained until the results have been returned.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) collects samples from horses to be tested for phenylbutazone as part of two different surveys, the statutory veterinary residue surveillance scheme and the FSA survey.
	The United Kingdom has in place a statutory veterinary residue surveillance scheme in fulfilment of its obligations under council directives 96/22/EC and 96/23/EC and (EC) 854/2004, Annex I, Chapter II, F. This programme helps to ensure that consumers are protected against potentially harmful residues of veterinary medicines. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for the co-ordination and management of the UK programme. The FSA undertakes the collection of samples from approved slaughterhouses under contract to the VMD. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development carries out the collection of samples. The scheme is a targeted scheme with no requirement for the carcases to be held until sample results have been released.
	Currently, the FSA is conducting a 100% survey at approved slaughterhouses for residues of phenylbutazone in horses submitted for slaughter with passports confirming they are not exempt from entering the food chain. The survey currently is not requiring carcases to be held pending test results but the FSA is finalising arrangements to move to a positive release scheme whereby the horse carcases will be held pending negative results at which time the carcases will be released and allowed to enter the human food chain.

Hospital Wards: Disability

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of training given to hospital staff on the positioning of disabled patients on general wards.

Daniel Poulter: Every NHS service provider has an obligation to their patients, including those with disabilities, as part of their Care Quality Commission registration requirements to ensure care is delivered by staff who are properly qualified and able to do their job.
	The Occupational health and safety standards; “Partnership for Occupational Safety and Health in Healthcare” (2010), outlines how all service providers have a legal obligation to ensure that they have a manual handling strategy in place and that sufficient training is provided to all staff involved in manual handling tasks, including refresher training.

Hospital Wards: Dorset

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason a ward at St Leonard's Hospital, Ferndown, Dorset has not been reopened to help meet the current pressure on beds at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: This is a matter for the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust.
	We have written to the Foundation Trusts' Chairs, Jane Stichbury and Jonathan Walsh, informing them of my hon. Friend’s inquiry. The Foundation Trusts will reply shortly and copies of the correspondence will be placed in the Library.

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the safety of administering the HPV vaccine in schools;
	(2)  what (a) information and (b) training is given to those who administer HPV vaccines on potential adverse reactions.

Anna Soubry: The Department publishes information and advice about immunisation against human papillomavirus (HPV) for the health care professionals in the HPV chapter of its publication, ‘Immunisation against Infectious Disease’ and in a factsheet, ‘The human papillomavirus vaccine: The virus, the diseases and the HPV vaccine’, copies of which have been placed in the Library. Immunisation training is usually co-ordinated locally by national health service immunisation co-ordinators.
	HPV vaccine is administered safely by qualified health care professionals, typically on school sites by school nurses, but in some cases at general practitioner practices. Regardless of the setting in which the vaccine is administered, the training received by the health care professional involved will address safe and effective vaccination, including how to recognise and manage adverse events following immunisation such as anaphylaxis to prevent serious harm to the patient. A protocol for the management of anaphylaxis and an anaphylaxis pack must always be available whenever vaccines are given. Where required, a Patient Group Direction, which is a specific written local instruction for the authorised supply and administration of the HPV vaccine to groups of patients, will be in force.
	The approved regulatory documentation for any vaccine or medicine is the Summary of Product Characteristics for health care professionals and the Patient Information Leaflet for patients. It is recommended that a copy of the Patient Information Leaflet is provided to the patient at the time for vaccination, which contains a description of the commonest reported side effects from the vaccine. It also signposts the reader to further information if they wish to learn more about side effects. The Department has published two leaflets for parents and girls, copies of which have been placed in the Library: ‘The HPV vaccine: A Q&A sheet for girls and their parents on the HPV vaccination available from September 2012’, and ‘Your guide to the HPV vaccination from September 2012’.
	The health care professional will check at the time of vaccination whether the patient has previously had a reaction to the vaccine or its constituents based on locally developed protocols.

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department offers to parents who are being investigated by social services for fabricating or inducing illness and who have a child who has experienced a severe adverse reaction to an HPV vaccination.

Anna Soubry: Local authority social services departments, working in collaboration with national health service organisations and health care professionals, are responsible for assessing cases where it is considered possible that parents may have fabricated or induced illness. In such cases, a full developmental history and assessment should be carried out. The assessment should consider any relevant medical treatment, including immunisation.
	In 2008, the Government published statutory guidance—‘Safeguarding Children in Whom Illness is Fabricated or Induced’. This guidance provides a national framework within which agencies and professionals at a local level—individually and jointly—draw up and agree their ways of working where illness may be being fabricated or induced in a child. This framework includes the provision of support, advice and advocacy to children and families.

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to care for those who are diagnosed with new medical conditions after receiving the HPV vaccination.

Anna Soubry: Local national health service organisations are responsible for commissioning and providing the necessary medical assessment, diagnosis, treatment and care to their populations.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has responsibility for vaccine and medicines safety in the United Kingdom and has been keeping the safety of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines under continual close monitoring since they were first used in the UK in September 2008. In September 2012 the MHRA sought the advice of the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) on the safety experience of Cervarix after 6 million doses of the vaccine had been used in the UK. CHM advised that no serious new risks had been identified and agreed that the balance of its benefits and risks remains positive.
	Continuous safety review by MHRA includes evaluation of suspected adverse reactions collected through the yellow card scheme, as well as the results from any new studies, both published and unpublished.
	Based on currently available evidence, the known risks of HPV vaccine are greatly outweighed by the expected benefits in preventing deaths from cervical cancer and other morbidities associated with vaccine strains of HPV.

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the evidence for HPV strains 16 and 18 being the most prevalent in the UK; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to determine if other HPV strains could cause cervical cancer.

Anna Soubry: The Health Protection Agency monitors the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the population, including HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for almost 60% and more than 15% of all cervical cancers in Europe respectively.
	‘Immunisation against infectious disease’ (the ‘Green Book’), which was updated in 2012 with the latest epidemiological data available at the time and which is available on the Department's website and in the Library, states that persistent infection by high-risk HPV types is detectable in more than 99% of cervical cancers. In addition to HPV16 and HPV18, a further 11 high-risk types have been identified but persistence and disease is more common for infections by HPV types 16 and 18 than for other high-risk types.
	http://immunisation.dh.gov.uk/green-book-chapters/chapter-18a/

Kidneys: Diseases

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has considered commissioning a national specialised service for atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome.

Norman Lamb: Following advice from the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services, Ministers have decided that the drug eculizumab and an accompanying service for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome will not be commissioned on a national basis at the present time.
	The Department has asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to further explore eculizumab's suitability for national commissioning and for NICE to provide guidance to the national health service.

Kidneys: Diseases

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services made of (a) clinical effectiveness and (b) the cost effectiveness of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome;
	(2)  if he will publish the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services' assessment of the national commissioning of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome.

Norman Lamb: The Advisory Group for National Specialised Services (AGNSS) carried out an assessment of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS) and recommended that both the drug and a service for the treatment of aHUS should be included as part of national specialised commissioning arrangements. The advisory group noted the high cost of the drug.
	AGNSS has published a statement about their recommendation to Ministers on the use of eculizumab for the treatment of aHUS. It can be accessed at the following site:
	www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/news/view/132

Kidneys: Diseases

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the process the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will use to conduct the appraisal of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome has been drafted; whether the draft process will be subject to public consultation; and when he expects the process to be finalised.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will use to conduct the appraisal of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome; if this process will be published; and whether this process will be subject to public consultation.

Norman Lamb: From April 2013, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will be responsible for the evaluation of selected highly specialised health technologies. NICE is currently engaging with stakeholders on the process it will use in the evaluation of such technologies and will formally consult on the process and methods in due course.
	We understand that NICE will publish an interim process to allow an early start on the evaluation of eculizumab for atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome after April 2013.

Maternity Services

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which maternity departments in England have 168 hours per week of consultant cover.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Maternity Services: Greater London

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hours of consultant cover is provided in each maternity department in London; and how many births took place at each such department in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not centrally held. The hon. Member may wish to contact individual hospital trusts for further information.

Medical Equipment

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that people using pressure relieving equipment at home are given access to the same equipment when they are admitted to hospital.

Daniel Poulter: Hospital trusts are free to use any equipment that is appropriate to the needs of patients admitted to hospital, taking account of national guidance such as the clinical guideline “Pressure ulcer prevention” issued by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence in 2003 and the material on pressure ulcers developed by the “Patient Safety First” campaign. The latter includes a “handover checklist” which advises health care professionals to discuss equipment requirements when a patient is transferred from the community to hospital or vice versa. The checklist can be found at:
	www.patientsafetyfirst.nhs.uk/Content.aspx?path=/interventions/relatedprogrammes/pressure-ulcers/

Muscular Dystrophy: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with care commissioning groups and NHS trusts on Teesside on improving care for patients with muscular dystrophy.

Norman Lamb: Ministers have had no recent discussions with commissioning groups or national health service trusts in Teesside about improving care for patients with muscular dystrophy.
	The provision of services, including non-specialised services for patients with muscular dystrophy, is a matter for the local NHS. Specialised neuromuscular services for people with muscular dystrophy are currently the responsibility of the regional specialised commissioning groups. These services will be commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board from April 2013.

NHS: Procurement

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the NHS does not commission any services from groups who engage in or promote conversion therapy.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not recommend the use of conversion therapy and it is not a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended treatment. It is for commissioners of NHS services to ensure that treatment and care, including therapy, is provided to every patient without any form of discrimination. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will in future commission the majority of health care services. As public sector organisations, they will be subject to the specific duties of the public sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010. Therefore CCGs must, in the exercise of their functions, have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited under the Act.

Nurses: South East

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) district nurses, (b) health visitors, (c) community psychiatric nurses, (d) community matrons and (e) community learning disability nurses were employed by the NHS in each primary care trust in the South East in (i) the latest period for which figures are available and (ii) the period of 12 months prior to that.

Daniel Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The numbers of full-time equivalent staff for the staff groups requested employed by national health service organisations in the South East Coast as at 31 October 2011 and 31 October 2012 are shown in Table 1.
	Since June 2012, there is a Health Visiting Minimum Data Set Collection that includes additional full-time equivalent health visitors employed by all NHS organisations, local authorities and social enterprises, including information from organisations that employ health visitors but do not use the Electronic Staff Record. These figures are provided in Table 2.
	
		
			 Table 1: NHS hospital and community health services provisional monthly statistics: Qualified nursing and health visiting staff in each specified area of work in the South East Coast strategic health authority area by organisation 
			 As at 31 October 2011 
			 Full-time equivalent 
			       of which: 
			   All specified staff Community learning disabilities Community psychiatry Community services Community matrons District nurses Health visitors 
			 South East Coast strategic health authority area  4,488 146 996 3,345 121 341 531 
			          
			 Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust (PCT) 5LQ 8 0 0 8 0 0 0 
			 East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust RW 28 0 0 28 0 0 0 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 5P7 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 
			 East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust RXC 394 0 0 394 21 38 63 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QA 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 5P8 26 1 0 25 0 0 1 
			 Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust RXY 376 25 339 13 0 0 0 
			 Kent Community NHS Trust RYY 726 52 4 671 23 207 89 
			 Medway NHS Foundation Trust RPA 6 1 0 5 0 0 0 
			 Medway PCT 5L3 214 0 0 214 0 16 47 
			 Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust RXX 220 36 176 8 0 0 0 
			 Surrey PCT 5P5 787 1 0 786 32 60 106 
			 Sussex Community NHS Trust RDR 755 1 6 748 30 19 152 
			 Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust RX2 502 30 472 0 0 0 0 
			 West Kent PCT 5P9 439 0 0 439 15 1 73 
		
	
	
		
			 As at 31 October 2012 
			 Full-time equivalent 
			 South East Coast strategic health authority area  4,557 130 1,048 3,379 107 101 570 
			          
			 Brighton and Hove City PCT 5LQ 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 
			 East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust RXC 381 0 0 381 19 34 77 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 5QA 13 0 0 13 0 0 0 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 5P8 33 0 0 33 0 0 0 
			 Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust RXY 367 24 334 10 0 0 0 
			 Kent Community NHS Trust RYY 1,214 38 1 1,175 22 0 200 
			 Medway Community Healthcare NQ7 237 0 0 237 0 14 49 
			 Medway NHS Foundation Trust RPA 7 2 0 5 0 0 0 
			 Medway PCT 5L3 5 0 0 5 0 1 1 
			 Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RPC 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust RXX 224 37 176 11 0 0 0 
			 Surrey PCT 5P5 19 0 0 19 0 0 0 
			 Sussex Community NHS Trust RDR 818 2 6 810 28 6 161 
		
	
	
		
			 Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust RX2 560 28 531 0 0 0 0 
			 VH Doctors Ltd NCY 652 0 0 652 38 45 79 
			 West Kent PCT 5P9 15 0 0 15 0 0 0 
			 Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust RYR 2 0 0 2 0 0 2 
			 Notes: 1. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 2. The NHS Information Centre has advised that they do not hold any data on nurses employed by West Sussex PCT. 3. Community matrons, health visitors and district nurses work exclusively in the community services area of work. This area of work also includes nurse consultants, modern matrons, nurse managers, RSCNs, other 1st level nurses and other 2nd level nurses who are not separately identified in this table. 4. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Total number of health visitors in post 
			 Full-time equivalent 
			  2012 
			  April May June July August September October 
			 South East Coast SHA HV Commissioning Area 570 571 573 567 571 594 624 
			 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Provisional NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) monthly workforce statistics.

Ovarian Cancer

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to reduce regional disparity in ovarian cancer care;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to improve the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Anna Soubry: To support earlier diagnosis of cancer, including ovarian cancer, we have committed over £450 million in funding up to 2014-15. The early diagnosis money is being used to raise awareness of the symptoms of cancer, enable better general practitioner (GP) access to diagnostic tests, and pay for more testing and treatment in secondary care.
	We are enabling better GP access to non-obstetric ultrasound to support the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. To support GPs we have published best practice referral guidelines for GPs on how to access this test. Data on the use of diagnostic imaging tests is available via the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset, launched by the Department and the Health and Social Care Information Centre in May 2012. This allows providers to monitor and benchmark levels of diagnostic test usage and includes estimates of GP usage of direct access to non-obstetric ultrasound. Subject to testing, it is expected that these data will shortly be made available at GP practice level.
	On 14 January 2013, we launched a pilot ovarian cancer awareness campaign that will run across six cancer networks for nine weeks. The campaign aims to encourage women in the pilot areas who have one of the key symptoms of ovarian cancer—particularly persistent bloating—to see their doctor. The findings of the pilots will be used to inform a decision on whether to test the campaign on a larger scale.
	We know that there are regional variations in the treatment, care and support provided to cancer patients in England. To support the national health service to tackle this, we are providing data to providers and commissioners that allow them to benchmark their services and outcomes against one another and to identify where improvements need to be made. Through the National Cancer Intelligence Network, we have already made available data collections on survival rates and surgical resection rates across a range of cancers, including ovarian cancer.
	We have also made both national and trust level reports of the Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011-12 widely available to inform and drive local service improvement. The reports provide a breakdown of the experience of cancer patients across a number of stages in the cancer care pathway and include analysis of improvement levels since the 2010 survey. The trust level reports provide benchmarked data nationally and between teams so that priority improvement areas can be identified.
	The National Cancer Action Team worked with Cancer Networks to use the results of the 2010 survey to drive service improvements and has continued this work using the results of the 2011-12 survey, which was published on 17 August 2012. We are also encouraging stakeholders in the third sector to use the survey results to identify and share best practice in patient care and services to support service improvement activity.
	All the quantitative data will be sent to the National Data Archive at Essex University and will be made freely available to researchers wishing to undertake further analyses.

Patients: Compensation

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of no-fault compensation schemes for patients who have suffered accidental medical injuries without any clinical negligence.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has not recently assessed ‘no fault’ compensation schemes for patients suffering accidental clinical injuries. However, I have asked officials to provide me with advice on the Scottish Government's consideration of introducing a ‘no fault’ scheme in Scotland.

Rare Diseases

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department plans to publish the UK Plan for Rare Diseases.

Anna Soubry: In 2012, the Department, in partnership with the other United Kingdom health departments, launched a consultation on the United Kingdom Plan for Rare Diseases. The consultation responses were published in November and will be used to inform the development of the plan. The full plan will be finalised by the end of 2013.

Rare Diseases

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he plans to publish the rare disease plan;
	(2)  what place severe combined immunodeficiency and other primary immunodeficiencies will have in his Department’s rare disease plan;
	(3)  when the chief medical officer will next report on progress made in the field of rare diseases.

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to raise awareness of severe combined immunodeficiency.

Daniel Poulter: In 2012, the Department, in partnership with the other United Kingdom health departments, launched a consultation on the UK Plan for Rare Diseases. The consultation responses were published last November and will be used to inform the development of the plan. The plan is expected to be finalised by the end of 2013.
	The UK Plan for Rare Diseases will be a high-level document and will be aimed at improving diagnosis, treatment and care management for all patients with a rare disease, including those with severe combined immunodeficiency and other primary immunodeficiencies.
	Along with other evidence, the plan will take into account findings and recommendations on rare diseases from the previous chief medical officer’s 2009 report. The incumbent chief medical officer is monitoring developments on the UK plan with interest.
	As part of its work on the plan, the Department is working closely with patient groups such as Rare Disease UK to ensure appropriate awareness of severe combined immunodeficiency.

Rare Diseases

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has considered introducing a screening programme for patients with (a) severe combined imunodeficiency and (b) other rare diseases.

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the National Screening Committee on the introduction of severe combined immunodeficiency screening for newborn babies.

Daniel Poulter: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria.
	The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence for newborn screening for severe combined immunodeficiency against its criteria. A public consultation on the screening review has just closed and Ministers expect to receive a recommendation from the UK NSC shortly.
	As part of the NHS Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme in England all newborn babies are offered screening for phenylketonuria, congenital hypothyroidism, sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis and medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.
	On 8 April 2012 the Department announced that an evaluation to investigate extending the NHS Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme to include the conditions maple syrup urine disease, homocytinuria, glutaric acidaemia type 1, isovaleric acidaemia and long chain fatty acidaemia would begin in July 2012. Screening is offered to the populations served by the screening laboratories in Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, London (Guy's and St Thomas' and Great Ormond Street). The evaluation will provide evidence that will enable the UK NSC to carry out a thorough review of screening for the above conditions against its internationally recognised criteria.
	Where stakeholder organisations or individuals feel that there is enough evidence published in peer reviewed journals to consider screening for other rare conditions they can submit a policy proposal to the UK NSC. Further information is available on the UK NSC's website at:
	www.screening.nhs.uk/policyreview

Smoking: Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on the treatment of smoking-related diseases in 2011.

Anna Soubry: The Department does not maintain an annual record of the cost to the national health service of treating people with smoking-related diseases.
	However, the estimated cost to the NHS of treating smoking-related illnesses in 2006-07 was £2.7 billion. Further information about NHS costs relating to smoking is set out in paragraph 2.10 of “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England”, published in March 2011.
	The cost of tobacco use are much greater than just the cost to the NHS. In 2010, the report “Cough up: balancing tobacco income and costs in society”, Policy Exchange, London, estimated that the wider cost to society of tobacco use is almost £14 billion per annum.
	A copy of the Tobacco Control Plan and the Policy Exchange’s report have already been placed in the Library.

University Hospital Lewisham

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been set aside by his Department to reconfigure the estate at University Hospital Lewisham in order to make it into an elective care centre.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health has accepted the Trust Special Administrator's broad recommendations, including the three-year implementation plan set out in his final report.
	The report identifies £55.9 million of capital expenditure required to develop University Hospital Lewisham into an elective centre. Final decisions on funding will be worked through as part of the implementation planning process, in collaboration with the Department to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

University Hospital Lewisham

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what conversations his Department has had with Lewisham Clinical Commissioning Group and other commissioners in south east London on the proposed funding model for a midwife-led birthing unit at University Hospital Lewisham since his statement to the House on 31 January 2013.

Anna Soubry: The Department will be involved in the implementation of the Secretary of State's decision on the future of South London Healthcare NHS Trust and service provision in south east London.
	We anticipate that the Department, the NHS Trust Development Authority and the NHS Commissioning Board will have conversations with local national health service providers, clinical commissioning groups and other key partners in the coming weeks and months.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2013, Official Report, column 993W, on NHS: disclosure of information, whether the extra contractual compromise agreements included in the severance agreement between University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and its former Chief Executive, Mr Tony Halsall, were discussed with and endorsed by (a) HM Treasury and (b) Monitor;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2013, Official Report, column 994W, on NHS: disclosure of information, what assessment he has made of the extra contractual compromise agreement included in the severance agreement between University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and its former Chief Executive Mr Tony Halsall; whether this complies with the NHS Manual for Accounts; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not review business cases from foundation trusts proposing extra contractual severance payments, whether proposed under a compromise agreement or not. Foundation trusts are required to send such requests to Monitor for consideration before any such case is sent to Her Majesty's Treasury for approval.
	All national health service bodies, including foundation trusts, must comply with the Treasury guidance Managing Public Money. Annex 4.13 of the guidance sets out the Treasury's requirements of how special payments should be managed. Additional accounting guidance has been developed, based on the principles of Managing Public Money—the NHS Manual for Accounts for NHS trusts, ambulance trusts, strategic health authorities and primary care trusts, and the NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reporting Manual for foundation trusts.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what the sectoral breakdown of apprenticeships is in (a) Worcester, (b) Worcestershire and (c) the UK;
	(2)  how many retail apprentices in (a) Worcester, (b) Worcestershire and (c) the UK completed their apprenticeship programme in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts and achievements in Worcester parliamentary constituency, Worcestershire local education authority and England by sector subject area (including 'Retail and Commercial Enterprise') for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 academic years.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts and achievements by geography and sector subject area, 2010/11 to 2011/12 
			   2010/11 2011/12 
			  Sector subject area Starts Achievements Starts Achievements 
			 Worcester parliamentary constituency Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 10 10 10 — 
			  Arts, Media and Publishing — — — — 
			  Business, Administration and Law 320 110 430 200 
			  Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 20 20 30 20 
			  Education and Training — 20 20 — 
			  Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 110 30 100 30 
			  Health, Public Services and Care 150 — 200 50 
		
	
	
		
			  Information and Communication Technology 10 — 10 — 
			  Languages, Literature and Culture — — — — 
			  Leisure, Travel and Tourism 30 30 30 20 
			  Preparation for Life and Work — — — — 
			  Retail and Commercial Enterprise 230 100 230 120 
			  Science and Mathematics — — — — 
			  Unknown — — — — 
			  Total 880 320 1,060 450 
			       
			 Worcestershire local education authority Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 100 70 90 50 
			  Arts, Media and Publishing 10 — 10 — 
			  Business, Administration and Law 1,510 550 1,760 890 
			  Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 200 130 250 120 
			  Education and Training 30 — 80 10 
			  Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 630 170 670 300 
			  Health, Public Services and Care 750 230 1,190 350 
			  Information and Communication Technology 80 40 110 40 
			  Languages, Literature and Culture — — — — 
			  Leisure, Travel and Tourism 200 120 200 130 
			  Preparation for Life and Work — — — — 
			  Retail and Commercial Enterprise 1,440 550 1,300 770 
			  Science and Mathematics — — — — 
			  Unknown — — — — 
			  Total 4,940 1,840 5,670 2,660 
			       
			 England Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 7,380 4.120 7,570 3,840 
			  Arts, Media and Publishing 1,030 330 1.210 430 
			  Business, Administration and Law 133,820 57.950 164,830 80.470 
			  Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 28,090 18.390 24,000 16,120 
			  Education and Training 4,070 770 7,120 2,250 
			  Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 48,970 27,040 59,480 31.030 
			  Health, Public Services and Care 89,970 28.230 109,410 41.770 
			  Information and Communication Technology 19,520 10,510 18.520 9,400 
			  Languages, Literature and Culture — — — — 
			  Leisure, Travel and Tourism 21,590 11,160 19,770 14,080 
			  Preparation for Life and Work — — — — 
			  Retail and Commercial Enterprise 102,770 41,770 108.300 58.980 
			  Science and Mathematics 10 — 370 10 
			  Unknown — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Total 457,200 200,300 520,600 258,400 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10 apart from England totals which are rounded to the nearest 100. ‘—’ indicates a value of less than 10. 2. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. 4. Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers of approximately 2%. More information on the Single ILR Is available at: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C05DCDD5-67EE-4AD0-88B9_BEBC8F7F3300/0/SILR_Effects_Sft_learners_June12.pdf Source: Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what funding his Department is providing to help young people with special educational needs to enter apprenticeships;
	(2)  how many apprenticeships for young people have been created in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by age in England is published in Table 4.1 of a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8FC5AC0D-292D-43D3-9B70-FA970CF3E478/0/SFR_Tables_ January2013.xls
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current/
	The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved Administrations.
	Under the apprenticeships officer in the Education Act, the Government is committed to prioritising funding for young people from specified groups who secure an apprenticeship place. Disabled apprentices may qualify for Access to Work funds and training providers can access additional learning support to help with equipment or other resources.

Bank Cards: Surcharges

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  when legislative guidance that will accompany the ban on excessive surcharges on the use of credit and debit cards will be published;
	(2)  if he will introduce detailed legislative guidance to ensure that surcharges on the use of credit and debit cards are fully cost-reflective.

Jo Swinson: The Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, which prohibit traders, in respect of a given means of payment such as a debit or credit card, from charging consumers fees that exceed the cost borne by the trader for the use of that means, were made on 18 December 2012 and come into force on 6 April 2013. We are now working to produce guidance and will issue it as soon as possible.

British Standards Institution

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what public funding has been made available to the British Standards Institute in each of the last 10 years.

David Willetts: The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the UK National Standards Body (NSB)—developing and promoting British standards and representing the UK on European and International standards bodies.
	Between 2003/04 and 2012/13 total grants of just over £57 million were made available to the British Standards Institution by BIS. This is in respect of BSI's activities determined by BIS. These include standards development, support for participation in standardisation and the Consumer Travel Expenses Fund.
	The allocation for each year was:
	
		
			  Allocation (£) 
			 2003/04 6,052,393 
			 2004/05 5,843,823 
			 2005/06 6,725,000 
			 2006/07 7,035,000 
			 2007/08 6,535,000 
			 2008/09 5,460,000 
			 2009/10 5,460,000 
			 2010/11 4,834,000 
			 2011/12 4,644,000 
			 2012/13 4,520,000

Copyright

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reform copyright exceptions to clarify definitions of research or private study.

Jo Swinson: The Government will bring forward legislative proposals to reform copyright exceptions. These plans do not include altering the meaning of research and private study as it applies to the current copyright exception.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he has taken following the Regulatory Policy Committee's response to the impact assessment of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 in respect of the Committee's advice on further evidence gathering on the monetising of the potential effects of such a repeal;
	(2)  what response he has made to the recommendations from the Regulatory Policy Committee on further evidence gathering with respect to the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: In response to the Regulatory Policy Committee's opinion on the Government's Economic Impact Assessment, the Government committed to consulting on transitional provisions that would seek evidence on how and when to implement the change if the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 was approved by Parliament.
	This could include evidence on the monetisation of the potential effects of the repeal.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of evidence from the Herchel Smith Professor of Intellectual Property at the University of Cambridge on the potential effects on education, cultural establishments and business of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: No such assessment has been made.
	The Government continue to have discussions with concerned parties on the potential effects of the repeal.

Electronic Commerce

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what representations the Government have received from the IT industry in the framing of its policy on e-commerce on (a) allowing small businesses to connect to a wider market place and (b) other matters;
	(2)  what steps the Government have taken to assist small businesses in adopting (a) websites, (b) secure payment processes, (c) anti-fraud measures and (d) other e-commerce tools for the purpose of assuring connectivity to a wider market place.

Michael Fallon: The Department is currently in dialogue with the IT industry as part of preparing the industrial strategy for the Information Economy which is expected to cover a variety of issues including e-commerce. The Department, in conjunction with UKTI, DCMS, Go On UK and corporate organisations is developing a public/private sector collaborative programme that will raise awareness among small businesses of the importance of the internet to business growth and furnish them with capabilities to exploit the internet and associated technologies, including addressing issues such as digital marketing, transacting on-line and cyber security. This will supplement the material already available on the
	www.gov.uk
	website.

Energy: Industry

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will review the carbon emissions factor used to calculate compensation for energy-intensive industries.

Michael Fallon: We recently held a consultation on our proposals for compensation for energy intensive industries which closed in December. As part of the consultation we received a number of comments on the carbon emissions factor. We are currently analysing responses and are exploring the issue further, with energy suppliers and other stakeholders.

Energy: Industry

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made on developing a strategy for energy-intensive industries; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: We are currently considering a proposal from the Environmental Audit Committee for an energy intensive industry strategy. We are in discussion with DECC on how we might draw on current work, including sector specific low carbon roadmaps, to address this.

Energy: Industry

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to facilitate long-term power supply agreements between energy-intensive industries and low-carbon generators.

Michael Fallon: We are currently considering the Environmental Audit Committee's Report which included a recommendation to facilitate long-term power supply agreements between energy intensive industries and low carbon generators. We aim to publish our response alongside our final guidance on energy intensive industries compensation in the spring.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the amount of compensation that will be available to energy-intensive industries in other EU member states for indirect costs associated with Phase III of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS); and what comparative assessment he has made of the UK's proposed compensation for EU ETS indirect costs and that of other EU member states.

Michael Fallon: We are very aware of the importance of understanding the differential between the UK and other member states and are seeking to minimise the impact on the competitiveness of UK-based companies. We keep this under review and published last year an assessment of the difference in policy costs between the UK and various other countries. We understand that not all EU member states are intending to compensate their energy intensive industries for the indirect costs for the EU Emissions Trading System and those that will are still developing their proposals and have not published details.

Foreign Investment in UK

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many jobs in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England are dependent on foreign investment.

Michael Fallon: The number of jobs which UK Trade & Investment has recorded as being created or safeguarded with foreign direct investments over the last five years (1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012) is:
	
		
			  Jobs 
			 Barnsley Central 381 
			 South Yorkshire 7,626 
			 England 379,810

Further Education: Scotland

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Scotland began attending further education colleges in England in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 as follows shows government-funded further education and skills participation for learners living in Scotland but studying in general further education colleges in England. Data are shown for 2007/08 to 2011/12, the latest year for which final data are available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Further education and skills participation of learners from Scotland in general further education colleges, 2007/08 to 2011/12 
			 General FE college participation Number 
			 2007/08 2,430 
			 2008/09 3,080 
			 2009/10 2,090 
			 2010/11 1,330 
			 2011/12 1,440 
			 Notes: 1. These data include government funded participation in Apprenticeships, Workplace Learning, Community Learning and Education and Training provision at General Further Education Colleges including Tertiary only. 2. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for 2008/09 are not directly comparable with earlier years due to a change in funding methodology. 4. Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers of approximately 2%. More information on the Single ILR is available at: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C05DCDD5-67EE-4AD0-88B9-BEBC8F7F3300/0/SILR_Effects_SFR_Learners_June12.pdf 5. Geographic information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Higher Education: Admissions

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons UCAS figures for application rates, acceptance rates and entry rates by ethnicity are not published in the same manner as the figures for sex and age after each UCAS application deadline; and if he will instruct UCAS to publish such figures in future.

David Willetts: The Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) is an independent company not a government body. Decisions as to what data to publish, and when, are therefore matters for UCAS.
	However, the Government is firmly committed to improving the information available about higher education through the key information set and other initiatives, and is in favour of transparency on who applies to and who attends higher education.

Higher Education: Admissions

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of student places which were unfilled out of those allocated in the margin in the 2012-13 academic year;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of student places allocated to further education colleges which were unfilled of those allocated in the margin in the 2012-13 academic year.

David Willetts: The estimated number of unfilled places is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Award of places through the 2012-13 margin Number of margin places not filled 
			 Higher education institutions 9,600 4,200 
			 Further education colleges 10,400 2,800 
			 Total 20,000 7,000 
			 Note: Figures are shown to the nearest hundred. 
		
	
	The number of margin places not filled totals around 7,000, out of 20,000 places awarded. Some institutions were expected to recruit less than their allocation to compensate for over-recruitment in previous years. We expect there to be more full-time undergraduate students in higher education this year than in any year before 2010.

Land Registry

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons the decision was made to advertise the Land Registry chief executive's post despite there being an incumbent in that post; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Land Registry is embarking on a business strategy that presents significant new challenges for the organisation. It is therefore the right time to run a competition to identify the person best able to lead the organisation in implementing the agreed objectives.

Land Registry

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the Public and Commercial Services Union in the Land Registry in the last 12 months; and whether he plans to meet such representatives before he makes a decision on the Land Registry's business strategy and commercial model.

Michael Fallon: No departmental Ministers have met with representatives of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union in the Land Registry in the last 12 months. However, the Land Registry executive management team have been actively engaging with PCS Union representatives on the new business strategy and commercial model and will continue to do so.

Land Registry

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his preferred commercial model is for the Land Registry.

Michael Fallon: I have asked the Land Registry to consider alternative commercial models that would enable them to better deliver on their new Business Strategy. No decision has yet been made.

Land Registry

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) parliamentary and (b) public scrutiny there will be of the commercial model of the Land Registry.

Michael Fallon: If there were to be any proposal for a change in the status of the Land Registry, we would embark on a full and careful consultation.

Medicine: Research

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department is providing to the life sciences sector.

David Willetts: On 10 December 2012, the Prime Minister announced the Strategy for UK Life Sciences One Year On report, highlighting the progress made in implementing the measures set out in the Life Sciences Strategy since its launch in December 2011. At the same time, we also announced the Government's intention to commit to the sequencing of 100,000 whole genomes over the next three to five years as part of continuing Government efforts to develop the UK as a global life sciences hub.
	Links to reports can be located at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/innovation/docs/s/12-1346-strategy-for-uk-life-sciences-one-year-on.pdf
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/innovation/docs/s/11-1429-strategy-for-uk-life-sciences

Members: Correspondence

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Ashfield dated 28 November 2012 and the follow-up letter dated 15 January 2013, Ref: ps/ROLL05001/05120214 relating to Rolls-Royce in Nottinghamshire.

Matthew Hancock: I replied on 29 January 2013.

Royal Mail

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether his Department plans to publish the terms for the sale of Royal Mail;
	(2)  what criteria his Department plans to use for the sale of Royal Mail.

Michael Fallon: The Government's priority is to ensure the maintenance of the universal postal service which is provided by Royal Mail—the UK's designated universal service provider. The sale of shares in Royal Mail will give the company access to flexible private capital that is needed to ensure that it is successful and sustainable in the long term.
	As with the sale of all publicly owned assets the Government will be seeking to ensure overall value for money from the sale. In addition, for Royal Mail we will seek to strengthen employee engagement through an employee share scheme of at least 10% of the company—this is a commitment that we chose to include in primary legislation.
	Once decisions have been made on the timing and structure of a sale we will report the detail to Parliament (as required by Section 2 of the Postal Services Act 2011). This will include setting out the objectives for the sale.

School Leaving: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many school leavers there were in Bassetlaw constituency in each of the last 10 years; how many of those applied for undergraduate degree courses at universities; how many applications were made to each university; and how many of those applications were successful.

David Willetts: The information for this time period and this level of detail is not available centrally. Data on applications and acceptances are collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) but they do not routinely publish figures at this level of detail. UCAS is independent from Government.

JUSTICE

Community Orders

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under the Government's proposals for outsourcing of probation tasks, how decisions on (a) breach procedures and (b) recall to prison procedures of persons on community orders will be arrived at if the public sector is not responsible for direct supervision.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation paper proposes that the public sector and contracted providers will work together to handle cases where offenders breach the requirements of their sentence or licence. Providers will report material breaches of community orders, suspended sentence requirements and licence conditions to the public sector, who will then advise the court or Secretary of State. We are considering the parameters and triggers for referral back to the public sector for breach and recall decisions as part of our consultation.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Community Orders

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under the Government's proposals for outsourcing of probation tasks, what appeal procedures an offender would have recourse to if they were subject to breach proceedings of community orders by the Probation Service whilst being supervised by private contractors.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders as part of our response.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many drivers have been penalised for using mobile phones whilst driving in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for using a mobile phone while driving, in England and Wales, from 2001 to 2011 is published in the Criminal Justice Statistics 2011, Motoring tables A8.1 toA8.3.
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/criminal-justice-stats/motoring-tables-1211.xls
	Fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by police for using mobile phones while driving, in England and Wales, between 2006 and 2010 (latest available), can be found in table FPN02 through the Home Office Website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/immigration-tabs-q4-2011/fixed-penalty-notice-1011-tabs?view=Binary

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the mean average spend using a Government Procurement Card was per member of staff in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arm's length bodies in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012;
	(2)  what guidance or instructions have been issued to staff in (a) his Department and (b) its arm's length bodies about the timing of the publication of data relating to spend over (i) £25,000 and (ii) £500 using the Government Procurement Card.

Jeremy Wright: Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Government Procurement Cards (GPC) are provided under a contract that covers MOJ HQ, National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and Office of the Public Guardian.
	On average the Ministry of Justice spent £289.46 and £153.05 per member of staff in 2011 and 2012(1) respectively.
	(1 )1 April-31 December 2012
	There are some legacy contracts in place in arm’s length bodies which are not managed centrally. Gathering this information would be of disproportionate cost.
	In response to the hon. Member’s query relating to transparency guidance that has been issued, I can confirm that the following guidance has been issued to Departments:
	(i) Spend over £25,000
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/government_ spend_guide_2012.pdf
	(ii) Government Procurement Card spend of £500 and over
	As follows:
	Publishing Transactional GPC Data Guidance
	(Transactions £500 and Above)
	This guidance is provided to support the publication of GPC data for transactions of £500 and above. The first set of data (for Quarter 1 2011/12) must be published on Departmental websites by 30 September.
	1. Process
	GPC providers are responsible for producing data detailing all transactions of £500 and above for the period in question and sending this directly to Departments for review. The timetable for this is provided at "2. Timetable". If the first tranche of data has not been received, an approach to your card provider to request the data should be made as a matter of urgency.
	Departments have the opportunity to review the data, make any necessary redactions and add additional context where required before publishing the data set on Departmental websites. A link to the published data must also be added to the data.gov.uk website.
	2. Timetable
	The timetable for the publication of GPC data is as follows:
	
		
			 Data: Produced by card issuers: Departments to publish by: 
			 April 10-March 11 31 July 2011 Not published 
			 April 11-June 11 31 July 2011 30 September 2011 
			 July 2011 20 August 2011 31 October 2011 
			 August 2011 20 September 2011 31 October 2011 
			 September 2011 20 October 2011 30 November 2011 
			 October 2011 20 November 2011 31 December 2011 
			 November 2011 20 December 2011 31 January 2012 
			 December 2011 20 January 2012 29 February 2012 
			 January 2012 20 February 2012 31 March 2012 
			 February 2012 20 March 2012 30 April 2012 
			 March 2012 20 April 2012 31 May 2012 
		
	
	3. Data format
	Data is to be published in csv format.
	The mandatory fields that must be included are:
	
		
			 Transaction date (Posting date) Merchant Name Transaction Amount 
		
	
	The line number on the spreadsheet will double as the reference number for each transaction being published.
	GPC providers have also included the transaction reference number in the data sets that have been produced for Departments. This reference should not be published as it could lead to identification of a specific card number. However, the original file that includes the transaction reference should be retained in case it is required to interrogate a particular transaction following publication.
	If additional context needs to be added to particular transactions, this should be included in a comments field, so that the data set published is:
	
		
			 Transaction date (Posting date) Merchant Name Transaction Amount Comments (Additional Context) 
		
	
	4. Redactions/FOI
	Departments must adhere to FOI legislation when deciding if redactions are required before the data is published, as well as any local procedures that are in place which may prohibit the publication of any of the data. Detailed guidance can be found at
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/freedom-and-rights/freedom-of-information/index.htm
	Where data is redacted because of internal departmental procedures / security considerations and not overarching FOI principles, Departments should request an exemption from publishing aspects of the data and provide reasons why they are unable to include such data from the appropriate authority within that Department.
	5. Linking data to data.gov.uk
	Data published on Departmental websites must also be linked to data.gov.uk
	Instructions on how to do this can be found here:
	http://data.gov.uk/blog/publish-your-data-on-datagovuk-a-simple-how-to-guide
	Contact James Forrester at the Cabinet Office
	james.forrester@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
	if you require further assistance when linking data to data.gov.uk
	6. Transparency Guidance
	In addition to this guidance, Departments should note the Transparency Guidance that has been produced by HM Treasury
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/government_s pend280211.pdf
	in terms of the procedures for publishing data. The relevant sections have been highlighted in the Transparency Guidance document provided with this document and are as follows:
	Redactions (at 2.14)
	Internal Review and sign-off of the data (at 2.22)
	Hosting arrangements (at 2.24)
	FOI Requests (at 2.27)

Industrial Disputes: Shrewsbury

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what ways national security would be infringed by the release of all Cabinet minutes, documents, discussion papers, civil service notes, reports and telephone records that relate to the prosecution and imprisonment of 24 workers who took part in the Shrewsbury building workers’ strikes of 1972.

Jeremy Wright: The majority of papers relating to the trials of the “Shrewsbury 24” are available at the National Archives. However, the Cabinet Office, for example, has retained a small number of papers supplied by or otherwise relating to the intelligence agencies. To provide details of the national security risks that might be posed by the release of this information would itself be detrimental to the purposes the exemption is designed to protect.
	Although the Public Records Act 1958 usually requires the transfer of public records to TNA by the time they are 30 years old (this is currently being reduced to 20 years), it also permits the retention of records by transferring bodies in certain circumstances. Successive Lord Chancellors since 1967 have been satisfied that security and intelligence information falls within the categories information that may be retained, and have signed a ‘security and intelligence instrument’ to approve this approach. The ‘security and intelligence instrument’ was most recently renewed in December 2011 and applies until 31 December 2021. Before it was renewed, assurances were provided by Ministers in other Government Departments and those responsible for the records of other public records bodies that this protection is necessary.
	It is for individual Government Departments holding particular papers falling within the scope of the ‘security and intelligence instrument’ to decide whether they wish to rely on it to retain them.

Industrial Disputes: Shrewsbury

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review his decision to withhold material from the National Archives that relates to the prosecution and imprisonment of 24 workers who took part in the Shrewsbury building workers dispute in 1972.

Jeremy Wright: The majority of papers relating to the trials of the “Shrewsbury 24” are available at the National Archives. However, the Cabinet Office, for example, has retained a small number of papers supplied by or otherwise relating to the intelligence agencies.
	Although the Public Records Act 1958 usually requires the transfer of public records to TNA by the time they are 30 years old (this is currently being reduced to 20 years), it also permits the retention of records by transferring bodies in certain circumstances. Successive Lord Chancellors have since 1967 been satisfied that security and intelligence information falls within the categories of information that may be retained, and have signed a ‘security and intelligence instrument’ to approve this approach. The ‘security and intelligence instrument’ was most recently renewed in December 2011 and applies until 31 December 2021. Before it was renewed, assurances were provided by Ministers in other Government Departments and those responsible for the records of other public records bodies that this protection is necessary.
	In November 2012, in response to correspondence received from the Rt. Hon. David Hanson MP, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice satisfied himself that the papers retained by the Cabinet Office fall within the scope of the ‘security and intelligence instrument’. However, it is for individual bodies holding particular papers to decide whether they wish to rely on the ‘security and intelligence instrument’ to retain them.

Industrial Disputes: Shrewsbury

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish each item of correspondence (a) he and (b) his Department has received from Sir Robert McAlpine Limited in relation to the case of the Shrewsbury 24; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Neither I nor the Ministry of Justice has received any correspondence from Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd in relation to the case of the “Shrewsbury 24”.
	Although the Public Records Act 1958 usually requires the transfer of public records to The National Archives by the time they are 30 years old (this is currently being reduced to 20 years), it also permits the retention of records by transferring bodies in certain circumstances. Successive Lord Chancellors since 1967 have been satisfied that security and intelligence information falls within the categories information that may be retained, and have signed a “security and intelligence instrument” to approve this approach. The “security and intelligence instrument” was most recently renewed in December 2011 and applies until 31 December 2021. Before it was renewed, assurances were provided by Ministers in other Government Departments and those responsible for the records of other public records bodies that this protection is necessary.
	It is for individual Government Departments holding particular papers falling within the scope of the “security and intelligence instrument” to decide whether they wish to rely on it to retain them.

Industrial Disputes: Shrewsbury

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Home Secretary, (b) Attorney General and (c) Director of Public Prosecutions on the disclosure of information in relation to the case of the Shrewsbury 24; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has not had any discussions with the Home Secretary, Attorney-General, or Director of Public Prosecutions about the disclosure of information not already available at The National Archives relating to the case of the “Shrewsbury 24”.
	Although the Public Records Act 1958 usually requires the transfer of public records to The National Archives by the time they are 30 years old (this is currently being reduced to 20 years), it also permits the retention of records by transferring bodies in certain circumstances. Successive Lord Chancellors since 1967 have been satisfied that security and intelligence information falls within the categories information that may be retained, and have signed a “security and intelligence instrument” to approve this approach. The “security and intelligence instrument” was most recently renewed in December 2011 and applies until 31 December 2021. Before it was renewed, assurances were provided by Ministers in other Government Departments and those responsible for the records of other public records bodies that this protection is necessary.
	It is for individual Government Departments holding particular papers falling within the scope of the “security and intelligence instrument” to decide whether they wish to rely on it to retain them.

Industrial Disputes: Shrewsbury

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) files and (b) other records relating to the case of the Shrewsbury 24 have been (i) retained by Government departments and (ii) transferred to the National Archives but have not yet been released.

Jeremy Wright: The Government do not hold a single list of files or records on this subject.
	It is for individual Government Departments holding any relevant papers falling within the scope of the “security and intelligence instrument” to decide whether they wish to rely on it to retain them. The role of the Lord Chancellor is to sign the instrument on the basis of assessments from individual Departments, and as provided for in the Public Records Act 1958. Successive Lord Chancellors have signed such an instrument since the first was agreed in 1967.
	The National Archives' catalogue shows that it holds a number of files directly related to the “Shrewsbury 24”, including J 182 pieces 9-51, PREM 16/947 and DPP 2/5185. Files J 182/9-51 and DPP 2/5185 are open to public access. PREM 16/947 is also open to public access with the exception of information from four documents which has been retained by the Cabinet Office.
	It is possible that information relevant to this case may be in other records held by The National Archives but, because they do not primarily relate to the case, are not identified as such in The National Archives' catalogue. For this reason it is not possible to say precisely how many of those files have been transferred as closed.

Industrial Disputes: Shrewsbury

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which documents and other papers he took into account in making his decision to withhold disclosure of information in relation to the case of the Shrewsbury 24; if he will review that decision; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The majority of papers relating to the trials of the “Shrewsbury 24” are available at The National Archives (TNA). However, the Cabinet Office, for example, has retained a small number of papers supplied by or otherwise relating to the intelligence agencies which would be absolutely exempt under section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act.
	In November 2012, in response to correspondence received from the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson), the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), viewed the papers retained by the Cabinet Office. He did so to satisfy himself that they fall within the scope of the “security and intelligence instrument” signed by the Lord Chancellor to permit the retention of security and intelligence material in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 (PRA) beyond the point at which public records are normally transferred under that Act.
	Although the PRA usually requires the transfer of public records to TNA by the time they are 30 years old (this is currently being reduced to 20 years), it also permits the retention of records by transferring bodies in certain circumstances. Successive Lord Chancellors have since 1967 been satisfied that security and intelligence information falls within the categories information that may be retained, and have signed a “security and intelligence instrument” to approve this approach. The “security and intelligence instrument” was most recently renewed in December 2011 and applies until 31 December 2021. Before it was renewed, assurances were provided by Ministers in other Government Departments and those responsible for the records of other public records bodies that this protection is necessary.
	It is for individual Government Departments holding particular papers falling within the scope of the “security and intelligence instrument” to decide whether they wish to rely on it to retain them.

Legal Aid Scheme

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2012, Official Report, column 702W, on legal aid: Asil Nadir, and the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz) of 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 207W, on Abu Qatada, whether his Department will provide the total amount of legal aid his Department has spent to date in respect of Asil Nadir.

Jeremy Wright: A total of £1,056,588.96 in legal aid funding has been provided by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) in relation to the trial of Asil Nadir. These costs are subject to change pending LSC approval of further payments to solicitors and barristers, as well as the costs appeals process.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 to be implemented in full.

Helen Grant: The majority of the provisions in Part 2 of the Act, that is those relating to civil litigation funding and costs, will be implemented substantively on 1 April 2013 (some earlier commencement is required for substantive implementation on 1 April). These provisions will apply in all categories of civil litigation, except for claims for publication and privacy proceedings, diffuse mesothelioma claims and proceedings in respect of and relating to insolvency proceedings.
	We currently plan to commence the provisions in sections 49 to 54 of Part 2, relating to divorce and dissolution proceedings, in April 2013 or shortly thereafter.
	Finally, sections 61 (payments in respect of pro bono representation before the Supreme Court) and 62 (costs in criminal cases) came into force on 1 October 2012.

Magistrates Courts: Sentencing

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the value of raising magistrates sentencing powers from a maximum of six months to a maximum of 12 months.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is considering the potential impact of increasing magistrates custodial sentencing powers. We are also exploring other ways to make the best use of magistrates courts.

Prison Sentences

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders have received sentences of (a) up to three months, (b) up to six months, (c) up to nine months, (d) up to 12 months, (e) up to two years and (f) more than two years for (i) offences against the person, (ii) sexual offences against adults, (iii) sexual offences against minors, including use of child pornography, (iv) robbery, (v) burglary and (vi) public order offences in each of the last five years, by offence type and criminal code section.

Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for the requested offences, by offence type and sentence length, in England and Wales, from 2007 to 2011 (latest available), can be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			 Offenders sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for various offences, by offence type and sentence length, England and Wales, 2007-2011(1,2) 
			  Offence type Offence Up to 3 months Over 3 months up to 6 months Over 6 months up to 9 months Over 9 months up to 12 months Over 12 months up to 2 years More than 2 years Indeterminate 
			 2007 Violence against the person 1 Murder — — — — — — 369 
			   2 Attempted murder — — — — — 30 44 
			   3 Threat or Conspiracy to Murder 13 31 11 18 56 39 49 
			   4.1 Manslaughter 1 — 1 4 22 138 43 
			   4.4 Causing Death by Dangerous Driving — — 5 13 46 143 7 
			   4.5 Manslaughter Due to Diminished Responsibility — — — — — 4 2 
			   4.6 Causing Death by Careless Driving when under the influence of Drink or Drugs — — — 9 11 44 1 
			   4.7 Causing Death of a child or vulnerable person — — — — — 5 1 
			   5 Wounding or other act Endangering Life 3 16 11 45 191 932 413 
			   6 Endangering Railway Passenger — 1 1 2 4 — — 
			   7 Endangering Life at Sea 2 — — — — — — 
			   8 Malicious Wounding etc. 1,779 2,561 940 1,352 2,187 673 136 
			   11 Cruelty to or Neglect of Children 14 20 6 13 22 16 2 
		
	
	
		
			   13 Child Abduction 1 2 1 8 7 5 — 
			   37.1 Causing Death by Aggravated Vehicle Taking 1 5 — 1 — 1 — 
			   Total 1,814 2,636 976 1,465 2,546 2,030 1,067 
			           
			  Sexual offences Rape of a child 1 1 — 4 15 296 77 
			   16 Buggery — — — 1 2 35 2 
			   18 Indecency between Males — 2 — — — 1 — 
			   19 Other Rape — — — 2 5 283 137 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female 35 90 36 73 185 273 56 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female Child — 8 8 10 47 67 54 
			   21 Sexual Activity with child under 13 1 4 8 11 28 38 20 
			   22 Sexual Activity with child under 16 — 18 19 42 104 138 41 
			   23 Familial Sexual Offences (Incest) — 1 5 3 21 32 15 
			   24 Exploitation of Prostitution 1 6 1 5 11 8 — 
			   70 Sexual activity etc. with a person with a mental disorder — 1 — 4 4 6 1 
			   71 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography 1 — — — 2 5 4 
			   72 Trafficking for sexual exploitation — — 1 — 1 10 2 
			   73 Abuse of trust- sexual offences 10 9 2 6 2 2 — 
			   74 Gross Indecency with Children 2 1 — 11 9 23 1 
			   88 Miscellaneous sexual offences 28 39 17 21 27 18 19 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male 3 3 2 3 8 7 4 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male Child — 1 3 3 27 51 16 
			   Total 82 184 102 199 498 1,293 449 
			           
			  Burglary 28 Burglary in a Dwelling 346 1,000 421 776 1,593 1,816 7 
			   29 Aggravated Burglary in a Dwelling 2 — 2 2 33 150 24 
			   30 Burglary in a Building Other than a Dwelling 1,013 1,168 149 192 332 186 3 
			   31 Aggravated Burglary in a Building not a Dwelling — 2 — — 4 12 4 
			   Total 1,361 2,170 572 970 1,962 2,164 38 
			           
			  Robbery 34 Robbery 14 329 230 490 1,188 2,109 412 
			   Total 14 329 230 490 1,188 2,109 412 
			           
		
	
	
		
			  Public Disorder 64 Rioting — — — — — 2 — 
			   65 Violent Disorder 2 38 50 95 126 52 4 
			   66 Other Offence against the State or Public Order 250 637 313 386 354 38 8 
			   Total 252 675 363 481 480 92 12 
			           
			 2008(3) Violence against the person 1 Murder — — — — — — 439 
			   2 Attempted Murder — — — — — 24 57 
			   3 Threat or Conspiracy to Murder 11 26 9 34 49 44 28 
			   4.1 Manslaughter — — 1 5 16 172 32 
			   4.4 Causing Death by Dangerous Driving — 1 6 6 37 152 4 
			   4.5 Manslaughter Due to Diminished Responsibility — — — — — 2 5 
			   4.6 Causing Death by Careless Driving when under the influence of Drink or Drugs — — —  6 39 — 
			   4.7 Causing Death of a child or vulnerable person — — — — 2 1 — 
			   5 Wounding or other act Endangering Life 7 20 15 32 126 1,077 355 
			   6 Endangering Railway Passenger — 5 1 2 3 — — 
			   7 Endangering Life at Sea 1 — — — — — — 
			   8 Malicious Wounding etc. 1,796 2,833 1,126 1,446 2,291 710 166 
			   11 Cruelty to or Neglect of Children 15 25 16 17 31 25 4 
			   13 Child Abduction — 1 2 3 9 7 — 
			   14 Procuring Illegal Abortion 1 — — — — — — 
			   37.1 Causing Death by Aggravated Vehicle Taking — — 2 — — 1 1 
			   Total 1,831 2,911 1,178 1,545 2,570 2,254 1,091 
			           
			  Sexual offences Rape of a child — — 2 3 12 326 86 
			   16 Buggery 1 — — — 1 28 — 
			   19 Other Rape — — 1 — 7 318 110 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female 56 73 54 73 192 246 56 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female Child 1 9 8 16 55 103 49 
			   21 Sexual Activity with child under 13 — 7 2 7 39 38 12 
			   22 Sexual Activity with child under 16 2 15 27 43 132 193 55 
		
	
	
		
			   23 Familial Sexual Offences (Incest) 1 — 2 6 18 37 8 
			   24 Exploitation of Prostitution 4 5 7 9 21 5 — 
			   70 Sexual activity etc. with a person with a mental disorder — 1 — — 3 10 — 
			   71 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography — — — 2 5 10 2 
			   72 Trafficking for sexual exploitation — — 2 3 3 15 — 
			   73 Abuse of trust- sexual offences 5 6 2 5 2 2 — 
			   74 Gross Indecency with Children — 2 2 4 15 15 — 
			   88 Miscellaneous sexual offences 33 54 18 21 20 12 14 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male 2 3 2 6 11 8 7 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male Child 2 1 3 6 25 44 11 
			   Total 107 176 132 204 561 1,410 410 
			           
			  Burglary 28 Burglary in a Dwelling 370 952 481 813 1,639 2,190 1 
			   29 Aggravated Burglary in a Dwelling — — 3 4 30 186 27 
			   30 Burglary in a Building Other than a Dwelling 1,084 1,157 184 267 370 186 2 
			   31 Aggravated Burglary in a Building not a Dwelling — — — 1 4 8 1 
			   Total 1,454 2,109 668 1,085 2,043 2,570 31 
			           
			  Robbery 34 Robbery 10 307 227 508 1,298 2,423 322 
			   Total 10 307 227 508 1,298 2,423 322 
			           
			  Public Disorder 64 Rioting — — — — — 2 1 
			   65 Violent Disorder 2 52 34 47 139 69 6 
			   66 Other Offence against the State or Public Order 238 597 339 406 387 44 19 
			   Total 240 649 373 453 526 115 26 
			           
			 2009 Violence against the person 1 Murder — — — — — — 376 
			   2 Attempted Murder — — — — — 47 37 
			   3 Threat or Conspiracy to Murder 16 32 3 30 50 31 20 
			   4.1 Manslaughter — — — 4 17 151 30 
			   4.4 Causing Death by Dangerous Driving 1 7 5 9 51 145 — 
			   4.5 Manslaughter Due to Diminished Responsibility — — — — — 2 2 
		
	
	
		
			   4.6 Causing Death by Careless Driving when under the influence of Drink or Drugs — 1 1 1 1 28 1 
			   4.7 Causing Death of a child or vulnerable person — — — 3 2 4 2 
			   4.8 Causing Death by careless or inconsiderate driving — — — 2 1 — — 
			   4.9 Causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers — 1 — — — — — 
			   5 Wounding or other act Endangering Life 7 13 4 25 131 1,228 218 
			   6 Endangering Railway Passenger — 1 — 2 1 — — 
			   7 Endangering Life at Sea 1 — — — — — — 
			   8 Malicious Wounding etc. 1,992 2,740 1,376 1,657 2,524 805 62 
			   11 Cruelty to or Neglect of Children 13 31 26 16 38 33 1 
			   12 Abandoning Child aged under Two Years — 1 — — — — — 
			   13 Child Abduction — 1 3 1 6 5 — 
			   14 Procuring Illegal Abortion — — — — — 2 — 
			   37.1 Causing Death by Aggravated Vehicle Taking — 1 — 2 — 4 — 
			   Total 2,030 2,829 1,418 1,752 2,822 2,485 749 
			           
			  Sexual offences Rape of a child — 1 1 1 11 376 79 
			   16 Buggery — — — — 1 22 1 
			   19 Other Rape 1 — — 1 7 360 103 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female 55 57 41 71 178 285 35 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female Child 3 9 9 16 47 106 23 
			   21 Sexual Activity with child under 13 1 5 3 10 22 32 13 
			   22 Sexual Activity with child under 16 3 13 20 30 138 232 36 
			   23 Familial Sexual Offences (Incest) — 1 2 6 23 41 4 
			   24 Exploitation of Prostitution 2 5 6 9 17 8 — 
			   25 Abduction — — — — 1 — — 
			   70 Sexual activity etc. with a person with a mental disorder — — 1 — 6 8 — 
			   71 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography — — 3 — 4 9 3 
			   72 Trafficking for sexual exploitation — — — — 2 19 — 
		
	
	
		
			   73 Abuse of trust—sexual offences 3 7 — 5 4 — — 
			   74 Gross Indecency with Children — 1 1 7 18 16 — 
			   88 Miscellaneous sexual offences 45 43 14 16 26 16 9 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male 4 3 5 5 9 8 3 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male Child — 1 3 4 25 38 10 
			   Total 117 146 109 181 539 1,576 319 
			           
			  Burglary 28 Burglary in a Dwelling 336 812 538 950 1,887 2,349 2 
			   29 Aggravated Burglary in a Dwelling — 1 2 8 33 179 23 
			   30 Burglary in a Building Other than a Dwelling 943 1,023 190 201 337 194 — 
			   31 Aggravated Burglary in a Building not a Dwelling — — 1 — 2 17 — 
			   Total 1,279 1,836 731 1,159 2,259 2,739 25 
			           
			  Robbery 34 Robbery 6 262 219 520 1,313 2,618 217 
			   Total 6 262 219 520 1,313 2,618 217 
			           
			  Public Disorder 64 Rioting — — — — — 9 — 
			   65 Violent Disorder — 17 23 61 133 33 1 
			   66 Other Offence against the State or Public Order 704 813 507 470 509 57 4 
			   Total 704 830 530 531 642 99 5 
			           
			 2010 Violence against the person 1 Murder — — — — — — 346 
			   2 Attempted Murder — — — — — 33 49 
			   3 Threat or Conspiracy to Murder 15 34 17 32 51 39 20 
			   4.1 Manslaughter — — — — 12 161 28 
			   4.4 Causing Death by Dangerous Driving — 1 1 3 21 113 1 
			   4.5 Manslaughter Due to Diminished Responsibility — — — — — 2 2 
			   4.6 Causing Death by Careless Driving when under the influence of Drink or Drugs — — — — 10 29 1 
			   4.7 Causing Death of a child or vulnerable person — — — — — 4 — 
			   4.8 Causing Death by careless or inconsiderate driving — 6 6 8 21 4 — 
		
	
	
		
			   4.9 Causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers — 1 2 1 — — — 
			   5 Wounding or other act Endangering Life — 7 3 17 118 1,280 246 
			   6 Endangering Railway Passenger 1 — 2 2 3 — — 
			   8 Malicious Wounding etc. 2,030 2,617 1,380 1,671 2,499 771 66 
			   11 Cruelty to or Neglect of Children 13 22 10 13 53 37 1 
			   13 Child Abduction — 3 3 6 17 13 — 
			   37.1 Causing Death by Aggravated Vehicle Taking — — — 1 1 2 — 
			   Total 2,059 2,691 1,424 1,754 2,806 2,488 760 
			           
			  Sexual offences Rape of a child — — — 3 6 400 79 
			   16 Buggery — — — 3 — 37 — 
			   19 Other Rape 1 — — — 4 377 114 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female 71 82 42 110 194 287 46 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female Child 1 15 12 15 58 120 30 
			   21 Sexual Activity with child under 13 — 2 1 13 32 53 8 
			   22 Sexual Activity with child under 16 1 15 22 35 143 283 40 
			   23 Familial Sexual Offences (Incest) — 4 2 9 14 35 2 
			   24 Exploitation of Prostitution 3 3 3 7 7 7 — 
			   70 Sexual activity etc. with a person with a mental disorder — — — 2 6 11 — 
			   71 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography — 2 1 2 17 12 3 
			   72 Trafficking for sexual exploitation — — — — 5 5 — 
			   73 Abuse of trust—sexual offences 1 4 2 2 7 3 — 
			   74 Gross Indecency with Children — — 3 4 26 26 1 
			   88 Miscellaneous sexual offences 36 43 10 30 26 11 6 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male 1 4 3 6 3 9 3 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male Child — 1 3 5 26 54 11 
			   Total 115 175 104 246 574 1,730 343 
			           
			  Burglary 28 Burglary in a Dwelling 333 819 520 1,060 2,041 2,501 3 
			   29 Aggravated Burglary in a Dwelling — 2 3 4 33 228 27 
		
	
	
		
			   30 Burglary in a Building Other than a Dwelling 960 1,036 208 196 249 207 — 
			   31 Aggravated Burglary in a Building not a Dwelling — 3 — 2 1 11 — 
			   Total 1,293 1,860 731 1,262 2,324 2,947 30 
			           
			  Robbery 34 Robbery 16 238 186 491 1,277 2,574 164 
			   Total 16 238 186 491 1,277 2,574 164 
			           
			  Public Disorder 65 Violent Disorder 3 16 31 80 179 61 2 
			   66 Other Offence against the State or Public Order 757 891 487 492 474 64 4 
			   Total 760 907 518 572 653 125 6 
			           
			 2011 Violence against the person 1 Murder — — — — — — 343 
			   2 Attempted Murder — — — — — 45 37 
			   3 Threat or Conspiracy to Murder 11 23 11 32 67 69 12 
			   4.1 Manslaughter — — — 1 8 126 23 
			   4.4 Causing Death by Dangerous Driving — — — 1 22 86 1 
			   4.5 Manslaughter Due to Diminished Responsibility — — — — — 4 4 
			   4.6 Causing Death by Careless Driving when under the influence of Drink or Drugs — — — — 3 32 — 
			   4.7 Causing Death of a child or vulnerable person — — — — — 1 — 
			   4.8 Causing Death by careless or inconsiderate driving — 6 10 9 16 5 — 
			   4.9 Causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers — 3 — 1 1 — — 
			   5 Wounding or other act Endangering Life 3 7 7 13 107 1,402 203 
			   6 Endangering Railway Passenger — 2 — 2 1 — — 
			   7 Endangering Life at Sea 1 — — — — — — 
			   8 Malicious Wounding etc. 2,247 2,660 1,359 1,718 2,605 822 26 
			   11 Cruelty to or Neglect of Children 17 15 23 17 41 42 — 
			   12 Abandoning Child aged under Two Years — — — — 1 — — 
			   13 Child Abduction 3 4 6 — 14 8 — 
		
	
	
		
			   37.1 Causing Death by Aggravated Vehicle Taking — — — — 3 3 — 
			   Total 2,282 2,720 1,416 1,794 2,889 2,645 649 
			           
			  Sexual offences Rape of a child — — — 5 18 503 73 
			   16 Buggery 1 — — — 2 35 2 
			   18 Indecency between Males — — — — — 1 — 
			   19 Other Rape 1 — 1 — 5 380 112 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female 75 78 49 75 217 332 36 
			   20 Sexual Assault on a Female Child — 4 7 20 63 150 29 
			   21 Sexual Activity with child under 13 2 1 3 14 46 55 13 
			   22 Sexual Activity with child under 16 7 17 11 35 142 247 29 
			   23 Familial Sexual Offences (Incest) — 4 2 5 19 59 3 
			   24 Exploitation of Prostitution — 5 10 12 10 6 — 
			   25 Abduction — — — — 1 — — 
			   70 Sexual activity etc. with a person with a mental disorder — — 1 1 7 10 2 
			   71 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography — — 1 2 4 10 4 
			   72 Trafficking for sexual exploitation — — — — 1 7 — 
			   73 Abuse of trust—sexual offences — — 3 2 4 2 — 
			   74 Gross Indecency with Children — — 1 6 13 19 2 
			   88 Miscellaneous sexual offences 34 44 3 23 25 18 6 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male — — 7 7 6 8 4 
			   17 Sexual Assault on a Male Child — — 4 9 24 77 8 
			   Total 120 153 103 216 607 1,919 323 
			           
			  Burglary 28 Burglary in a Dwelling 391 774 588 1,160 2,206 2,830 1 
			   29 Aggravated Burglary in a Dwelling — 1 — 6 28 252 24 
			   30 Burglary in a Building Other than a Dwelling 1,120 1,179 275 308 579 243 — 
			   31 Aggravated Burglary in a Building not a Dwelling 1 — — — 6 14 — 
			   Total 1,512 1,954 863 1,474 2,819 3,339 25 
			           
			  Robbery 34 Robbery 8 217 248 562 1,448 2,944 134 
			   Total 8 217 248 562 1,448 2,944 134 
			           
		
	
	
		
			  Public Disorder 64 Rioting — — — — — 1 — 
			   65 Violent Disorder 2 27 58 84 216 75 — 
			   66 Other Offence against the State or Public Order 800 737 455 485 521 52 2 
			   Total 802 764 513 569 737 128 2 
			 "—" Nil. (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Probation

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under the Government's proposals for outsourcing of probation tasks, what appeal procedures an offender would have recourse to if they were recalled to prison by the Probation Service whilst being supervised by private contractors.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders as part of our response.

Probation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for private sector providers to supervise medium or low risk sex offenders.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation paper states that we will not take any risks in protecting the public. We propose that the public sector will retain ultimate responsibility for public protection and will manage directly those offenders who pose the highest risk of serious harm to the public.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for private sector providers to supervise medium or low risk persons convicted of terrorist offences and subsequently released on license.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation paper states that we will not take any risks in protecting the public. We propose that the public sector will retain ultimate responsibility for public protection and will manage directly those offenders who pose the highest risk of serious harm to the public.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what specifications for the private sector for probation programmes will be published.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how the transfer of sensitive information about offenders from the police to private sector providers of offender services is managed; and if he plans to develop new protocols for this process.

Jeremy Wright: The police have Information Sharing Agreements in place regarding the secure transfer of information to providers of offender services.
	The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation paper states that, under our proposals, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Information Commissioner, providers and other interested groups to ensure that any data sharing is done in a way that is secure and protects the rights of those whose data are shared, including victims.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how the probation pension deficit currently held by probation trusts will in future be administered.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average size of unpaid work groups run by private companies would be under current plans for the outsourcing of probation responsibilities.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—-a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation officers he estimates will be made redundant as a consequence of proposed changes to the delivery of probation services.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	The consultation paper states that, under our proposals, we expect that probation professionals will work in the public, private and voluntary sectors, protecting the public and delivering rehabilitation services using their considerable skills and experience in working with offenders.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost of the proposed reform of probation.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’ which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	In the consultation paper we have made clear our intention to ensure that delivery of these proposals is affordable and will demonstrate maximum value for money. We have invited consultees to give their views on options for the design of the future system. The costs will depend upon the design decisions made. The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Probation

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to ensure that private and independent sector providers of offender services will be subject to (a) the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and (b) other public scrutiny of their work as public sector providers of services as part of his policy of outsourcing probation services.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is consulting on proposals to reform the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community, including opening up rehabilitation services to a more diverse range of providers.
	The Government's position on extending the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 to non-public sector providers of public services is set out in its response to the Justice Committee's July 2012 report, ‘Post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act 2000’. In that response, in line with the recommendation of the Justice Committee, we proposed that contracts with non-public sector service providers should be used and enforced to ensure that Freedom of Information obligations are met. The Government response also says that a code of practice will be issued to guide public authorities and their contractors in ensuring an appropriate degree of voluntary transparency beyond the minimum requirements of FOIA.
	The consultation paper states that it will be important that HM inspectorate of probation plays a role in independently inspecting offender management and the work done by providers in all sectors, ensuring that standards are upheld and helping to support continuous improvements in practice. We have sought consultees’ views on what this role should be.

Reoffenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people issued with a caution in each year from 2002 to 2012 have gone on to commit (a) no further offences, (b) one to five further offences, (c) six to 10 further offences, (d) 11 to 20 further offences and (e) more than 20 further offences in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each police authority area.

Jeremy Wright: Table 1A shows the number of offenders who were issued with a caution in each year from 2002 to June 2012, in England and Wales, broken down by the number of further offences they subsequently committed. Table 1B provides a similar breakdown to Table 1A but broken down further into police authority area. The police force area is solely based on the force issuing the first caution.
	Where an individual has more than one caution in each year, only the first caution is taken into account in each year as a starting basis for future offences. Offenders who are cautioned in multiple years are included in each year at their first caution point. Future offences include all offences, committed subsequent to the initial caution, for which the offender had been dealt with through either a caution or conviction. Further offences include all subsequent offences dealt with as at the end of June 2012 (for all years) and will therefore lead to higher proportions of multiple offences for the earlier years in the presented series.
	Breach offences have not been included in the further offence category as they would not constitute a further offence.
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	
		
			 Table 1A: Number of offenders who received a caution and did not commit a further offence, and those who went on to commit multiple offences by group, 2002 to June 2012, England and Wales 
			  0 1-5 6-10 11-20 20+ 
			 2002 109,852 85,178 19,910 13,826 9,097 
			 2003 121,026 90,065 20,146 13,326 7,867 
			 2004 127,076 92,723 20,054 12,897 6,837 
			 2005 152,613 107,563 22,155 13,311 6,100 
			 2006 182,174 121,183 23,473 13,167 5,359 
			 2007 201,806 122,379 21,239 10,721 3,752 
			 2008 196,146 107,291 16,586 7,725 2,301 
			 2009 187,945 86,409 11,381 4,546 1,087 
			 2010 175,942 64,823 6,974 2,430 417 
			 2011 176,839 45,517 3,485 851 107 
			 2012 87,766 10,867 344 63 6 
			 Note: 2012 includes data to the end of June only Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 1B: Number of offenders who received a caution and did not commit a further offence, and those who went on to commit multiple offences by police force and group, 2002 to June 2012, England and Wales 
			  Police force 0 1—5 6—10 11—20 20+ 
			 2002 Avon and Somerset 1,927 1,694 459 327 277 
			 2002 Bedfordshire 1,277 978 226 129 99 
			 2002 British Transport Police 1,665 947 246 206 144 
			 2002 Cambridgeshire 889 673 163 97 82 
			 2002 Cheshire 1,491 1,038 237 162 128 
			 2002 City of London 546 307 58 56 37 
			 2002 Cleveland 1,188 1,004 227 145 140 
			 2002 Cumbria 1,029 924 265 155 160 
			 2002 Derbyshire 1,330 1,069 247 182 100 
			 2002 Devon and Cornwall 3,270 2,736 597 389 265 
			 2002 Dorset 859 574 124 79 45 
			 2002 Durham 1,059 1,029 266 205 120 
			 2002 Dyfed-Powys 1,779 1,390 319 200 126 
			 2002 Essex 2,312 1,601 363 219 151 
			 2002 Gloucestershire 1,382 1,016 221 138 102 
			 2002 Greater Manchester 4,996 3,861 1,024 717 472 
			 2002 Gwent 1,579 1,513 393 270 161 
			 2002 Hampshire 3,574 2,769 589 434 291 
			 2002 Hertfordshire 1,445 1,091 235 164 97 
			 2002 Humberside 1,616 1,358 348 250 209 
			 2002 Kent 3,399 2,746 587 383 230 
			 2002 Lancashire 3,329 2,558 540 370 225 
			 2002 Leicestershire 1,315 971 247 179 113 
			 2002 Lincolnshire 958 756 175 116 71 
			 2002 Merseyside 3,084 2,261 485 404 232 
			 2002 Metropolitan Police 15,385 11,089 2,767 1,999 1,129 
			 2002 Norfolk 1,265 941 212 144 85 
			 2002 North Wales 1,454 1,188 304 217 159 
			 2002 North Yorkshire 1,256 833 180 142 79 
			 2002 Northamptonshire 1,072 827 231 157 133 
			 2002 Northumbria 6,588 5,380 1,092 706 527 
			 2002 Nottinghamshire 1,822 1,419 364 273 215 
			 2002 South Wales 2,545 1,710 463 315 222 
			 2002 South Yorkshire 3,035 2,460 610 404 240 
		
	
	
		
			 2002 Staffordshire 1,842 1,550 387 275 176 
			 2002 Suffolk 1,420 1,204 237 179 132 
			 2002 Surrey 1,963 1,463 289 196 122 
			 2002 Sussex 3,069 2,513 531 342 236 
			 2002 Thames Valley 3,775 2,775 604 357 253 
			 2002 Warwickshire 878 680 154 108 77 
			 2002 West Mercia 2,467 2,171 556 424 273 
			 2002 West Midlands 7,216 5,641 1,311 945 518 
			 2002 West Yorkshire 4,442 3,712 803 561 381 
			 2002 Wiltshire 1,060 758 174 106 63 
			        
			 2003 Avon and Somerset 2,236 1,784 455 356 214 
			 2003 Bedfordshire 1,505 1,033 216 132 75 
			 2003 British Transport Police 1,726 946 241 161 123 
			 2003 Cambridgeshire 973 749 168 110 67 
			 2003 Cheshire 1,575 1,196 255 156 113 
			 2003 City of London 579 279 51 43 28 
			 2003 Cleveland 1,379 1,096 249 166 129 
			 2003 Cumbria 1,233 968 244 173 118 
			 2003 Derbyshire 1,417 967 266 149 80 
			 2003 Devon and Cornwall 3,557 2,844 646 388 242 
			 2003 Dorset 1,037 591 145 82 40 
			 2003 Durham 1,134 979 232 152 104 
			 2003 Dyfed-Powys 1,888 1,533 336 198 120 
			 2003 Essex 2,203 1,715 363 227 146 
			 2003 Gloucestershire 1,344 953 214 142 69 
			 2003 Greater Manchester 5,094 3,745 911 672 371 
			 2003 Gwent 1,581 1,435 345 215 141 
			 2003 Hampshire 4,084 3,094 620 434 288 
			 2003 Hertfordshire 1,644 1,248 254 151 71 
			 2003 Humberside 1,652 1,299 304 214 142 
			 2003 Kent 4,099 3,274 681 433 246 
			 2003 Lancashire 3,949 3,157 692 430 293 
			 2003 Leicestershire 1,536 1,144 227 168 108 
			 2003 Lincolnshire 1,011 742 155 101 49 
			 2003 Merseyside 3,403 2,287 506 390 189 
			 2003 Metropolitan Police 15,874 10,595 2,557 1,678 856 
			 2003 Norfolk 1,533 1,013 203 138 88 
			 2003 North Wales 1,468 1,214 299 194 125 
			 2003 North Yorkshire 1,332 912 173 132 83 
			 2003 Northamptonshire 1,082 889 239 168 117 
			 2003 Northumbria 7,494 5,845 1,099 732 452 
			 2003 Nottinghamshire 2,125 1,612 419 298 191 
			 2003 South Wales 2,705 1,861 457 301 214 
			 2003 South Yorkshire 3,573 2,646 627 367 180 
			 2003 Staffordshire 2,456 1,901 416 291 161 
			 2003 Suffolk 1,709 1,331 278 182 122 
			 2003 Surrey 2,220 1,638 325 206 114 
			 2003 Sussex 3,850 2,941 653 380 237 
			 2003 Thames Valley 4,039 2,746 572 362 228 
			 2003 Warwickshire 1,026 835 194 105 50 
			 2003 West Mercia 2,564 2,191 569 363 236 
			 2003 West Midlands 7,581 5,811 1,245 863 421 
			 2003 West Yorkshire 5,293 4,069 864 602 362 
			 2003 Wiltshire 1,263 957 181 121 64 
			        
			 2004 Avon and Somerset 2,327 1,945 477 301 192 
			 2004 Bedfordshire 1,519 953 204 118 55 
			 2004 British Transport Police 2,085 1,114 255 193 156 
			 2004 Cambridgeshire 1,320 978 215 126 81 
			 2004 Cheshire 1,567 1,158 203 151 89 
			 2004 City of London 356 165 42 20 12 
			 2004 Cleveland 1,342 1,152 238 148 123 
			 2004 Cumbria 1,237 1,006 244 158 117 
		
	
	
		
			 2004 Derbyshire 1,726 1,287 253 149 75 
			 2004 Devon and Cornwall 3,337 2,724 557 369 171 
			 2004 Dorset 1,546 1,035 217 114 62 
			 2004 Durham 1,054 846 188 134 86 
			 2004 Dyfed-Powys 1,414 1,161 253 155 94 
			 2004 Essex 3,362 2,131 465 254 127 
			 2004 Gloucestershire 1,268 905 164 111 69 
			 2004 Greater Manchester 6,539 4,733 1,050 750 342 
			 2004 Gwent 1,552 1,321 317 160 107 
			 2004 Hampshire 4,266 2,983 625 363 256 
			 2004 Hertfordshire 1,960 1,373 261 150 76 
			 2004 Humberside 2,146 1,610 332 269 160 
			 2004 Kent 4,995 3,777 797 490 246 
			 2004 Lancashire 4,310 3,384 711 499 329 
			 2004 Leicestershire 1,546 1,150 236 162 82 
			 2004 Lincolnshire 1,181 929 204 129 55 
			 2004 Merseyside 2,716 1,761 395 321 136 
			 2004 Metropolitan Police 14,268 9,371 2,311 1,488 606 
			 2004 Norfolk 1,487 1,038 207 140 64 
			 2004 North Wales 1,425 1,126 257 179 100 
			 2004 North Yorkshire 1,473 909 190 103 51 
			 2004 Northamptonshire 1,258 910 253 152 94 
			 2004 Northumbria 7,537 5,563 1,035 644 384 
			 2004 Nottinghamshire 2,230 1,756 407 296 177 
			 2004 South Wales 2,933 1,946 448 266 151 
			 2004 South Yorkshire 3,485 2,620 580 334 185 
			 2004 Staffordshire 2,455 1,769 353 243 135 
			 2004 Suffolk 1,542 1,186 254 151 92 
			 2004 Surrey 2,583 1,902 406 251 118 
			 2004 Sussex 4,334 3,192 665 425 227 
			 2004 Thames Valley 4,799 3,365 651 388 187 
			 2004 Warwickshire 890 750 135 99 39 
			 2004 West Mercia 2,917 2,332 562 348 164 
			 2004 West Midlands 6,935 5,146 1,143 679 276 
			 2004 West Yorkshire 6,676 5,485 1,124 823 443 
			 2004 Wiltshire 1,178 776 170 94 46 
			        
			 2005 Avon and Somerset 3,143 2,429 520 356 217 
			 2005 Bedfordshire 1,784 1,026 193 117 43 
			 2005 British Transport Police 2,479 1,277 288 204 118 
			 2005 Cambridgeshire 2,140 1,509 302 191 85 
			 2005 Cheshire 2,613 1,787 392 195 103 
			 2005 City of London 459 226 55 54 18 
			 2005 Cleveland 1,502 1,283 255 205 161 
			 2005 Cumbria 1,284 1,077 215 142 70 
			 2005 Derbyshire 2,503 1,787 345 206 73 
			 2005 Devon and Cornwall 3,807 2,824 593 329 139 
			 2005 Dorset 1,668 1,171 221 109 42 
			 2005 Durham 1,470 1,176 258 153 82 
			 2005 Dyfed-Powys 1,799 1,378 302 157 70 
			 2005 Essex 4,537 2,854 518 297 127 
			 2005 Gloucestershire 1,776 1,285 260 130 62 
			 2005 Greater Manchester 6,888 4,995 1,073 681 303 
			 2005 Gwent 1,445 1,272 298 166 94 
			 2005 Hampshire 4,654 2,997 594 343 201 
			 2005 Hertfordshire 2,208 1,397 266 155 67 
			 2005 Humberside 2,506 1,952 431 278 138 
			 2005 Kent 5,135 3,847 802 480 218 
			 2005 Lancashire 4,413 3,721 817 543 262 
			 2005 Leicestershire 2,515 1,742 324 191 79 
			 2005 Lincolnshire 1,841 1,353 294 158 83 
			 2005 Merseyside 1,958 1,266 314 200 87 
			 2005 Metropolitan Police 16,301 10,702 2,352 1,451 545 
			 2005 Norfolk 1,792 1,155 207 135 60 
		
	
	
		
			 2005 North Wales 1,263 942 255 144 74 
			 2005 North Yorkshire 1,537 968 169 112 44 
			 2005 Northamptonshire 1,563 1,252 254 174 89 
			 2005 Northumbria 8,187 5,621 955 536 284 
			 2005 Nottinghamshire 3,363 2,630 573 369 185 
			 2005 South Wales 3,267 2,028 433 238 113 
			 2005 South Yorkshire 4,585 3,265 728 383 158 
			 2005 Staffordshire 3,149 2,105 419 285 96 
			 2005 Suffolk 1,778 1,239 266 155 76 
			 2005 Surrey 2,839 1,866 371 199 115 
			 2005 Sussex 5,429 3,636 718 387 179 
			 2005 Thames Valley 7,692 5,149 1,008 546 257 
			 2005 Warwickshire 1,394 1,034 212 110 55 
			 2005 West Mercia 3,400 2,632 607 374 178 
			 2005 West Midlands 8,944 6,497 1,255 724 249 
			 2005 West Yorkshire 8,299 6,428 1,295 859 359 
			 2005 Wiltshire 1,304 783 148 90 42 
			        
			 2006 Avon and Somerset 4,494 3,309 697 413 200 
			 2006 Bedfordshire 2,003 1,119 200 92 36 
			 2006 British Transport Police 3,197 1,489 325 214 99 
			 2006 Cambridgeshire 2,423 1,450 276 158 52 
			 2006 Cheshire 3,000 2,178 410 214 90 
			 2006 City of London 503 255 60 48 12 
			 2006 Cleveland 2,402 1,928 439 305 179 
			 2006 Cumbria 1,494 1,151 256 145 57 
			 2006 Derbyshire 2,770 1,807 285 178 58 
			 2006 Devon and Cornwall 4,564 3,087 580 283 153 
			 2006 Dorset 2,084 1,321 225 94 45 
			 2006 Durham 2,025 1,636 346 189 81 
			 2006 Dyfed-Powys 2,238 1,696 334 163 65 
			 2006 Essex 5,048 3,014 574 249 111 
			 2006 Gloucestershire 1,859 1,265 251 139 49 
			 2006 Greater Manchester 8,099 5,056 961 588 215 
			 2006 Gwent 2,366 1,882 396 191 103 
			 2006 Hampshire 4,798 3,094 607 351 169 
			 2006 Hertfordshire 3,262 2,175 382 203 75 
			 2006 Humberside 2,929 2,193 412 274 115 
			 2006 Kent 5,931 4,150 783 448 179 
			 2006 Lancashire 5,175 3,971 876 565 280 
			 2006 Leicestershire 3,426 2,073 348 199 67 
			 2006 Lincolnshire 2,155 1,456 263 149 77 
			 2006 Merseyside 2,024 1,346 308 183 83 
			 2006 Metropolitan Police 21,262 13,213 2,868 1,612 543 
			 2006 Norfolk 2,609 1,657 329 171 74 
			 2006 North Wales 1,477 1,096 221 119 45 
			 2006 North Yorkshire 1,538 923 186 110 32 
			 2006 Northamptonshire 2,235 1,598 363 200 101 
			 2006 Northumbria 8,051 5,403 906 508 231 
			 2006 Nottinghamshire 4,853 3,353 640 418 197 
			 2006 South Wales 2,983 1,871 366 218 96 
			 2006 South Yorkshire 5,449 3,798 735 403 135 
			 2006 Staffordshire 3,959 2,533 465 234 91 
			 2006 Suffolk 2,037 1,346 251 137 48 
			 2006 Surrey 2,740 1,762 302 187 89 
			 2006 Sussex 6,052 3,978 727 399 157 
			 2006 Thames Valley 7,828 4,903 861 443 190 
			 2006 Warwickshire 1,954 1,283 218 111 32 
			 2006 West Mercia 3,846 2,795 527 294 129 
			 2006 West Midlands 11,080 7,259 1,327 695 206 
			 2006 West Yorkshire 10,474 7,548 1,437 814 283 
			 2006 Wiltshire 1,478 763 150 59 30 
			        
			 2007 Avon and Somerset 4,891 3,139 582 347 169 
		
	
	
		
			 2007 Bedfordshire 1,952 998 157 74 30 
			 2007 British Transport Police 2,790 1,376 290 172 65 
			 2007 Cambridgeshire 2,544 1,511 290 116 41 
			 2007 Cheshire 3,025 1,798 278 146 55 
			 2007 City of London 472 235 70 35 17 
			 2007 Cleveland 2,819 2,022 439 273 171 
			 2007 Cumbria 1,917 1,384 250 141 47 
			 2007 Derbyshire 3,311 1,985 320 136 43 
			 2007 Devon and Cornwall 5,577 3,434 498 247 94 
			 2007 Dorset 2,236 1,303 183 77 12 
			 2007 Durham 2,309 1,692 336 152 64 
			 2007 Dyfed-Powys 2,013 1,444 226 119 44 
			 2007 Essex 6,917 3,927 536 227 88 
			 2007 Gloucestershire 2,183 1,224 173 97 30 
			 2007 Greater Manchester 8,514 4,887 842 377 142 
			 2007 Gwent 2,816 1,927 318 195 67 
			 2007 Hampshire 5,774 3,504 628 287 124 
			 2007 Hertfordshire 3,646 2,183 360 154 64 
			 2007 Humberside 3,455 2,309 399 239 83 
			 2007 Kent 6,667 4,196 687 379 140 
			 2007 Lancashire 5,178 3,830 743 424 171 
			 2007 Leicestershire 3,177 1,800 234 127 47 
			 2007 Lincolnshire 2,290 1,423 259 126 46 
			 2007 Merseyside 3,208 2,110 422 195 72 
			 2007 Metropolitan Police 25,285 14,817 2,904 1,442 415 
			 2007 Norfolk 2,741 1,535 303 144 40 
			 2007 North Wales 2,059 1,351 219 103 57 
			 2007 North Yorkshire 2,294 1,339 215 130 37 
			 2007 Northamptonshire 2,375 1,605 346 180 66 
			 2007 Northumbria 8,083 5,110 824 471 178 
			 2007 Nottinghamshire 4,396 2,980 566 317 118 
			 2007 South Wales 3,298 1,919 350 199 67 
			 2007 South Yorkshire 5,721 3,652 639 322 92 
			 2007 Staffordshire 4,666 2,621 447 225 50 
			 2007 Suffolk 2,419 1,289 227 98 29 
			 2007 Surrey 3,262 1,660 274 129 52 
			 2007 Sussex 7,315 4,145 624 337 101 
			 2007 Thames Valley 7,903 4,709 764 341 124 
			 2007 Warwickshire 2,195 1,293 181 81 23 
			 2007 West Mercia 4,161 2,633 461 234 76 
			 2007 West Midlands 12,346 7,032 1,161 492 125 
			 2007 West Yorkshire 9,934 6,186 1,061 555 151 
			 2007 Wiltshire 1,672 862 153 59 25 
			        
			 2008 Avon and Somerset 4,731 2,936 551 272 99 
			 2008 Bedfordshire 1,983 958 137 69 18 
			 2008 British Transport Police 3,028 1,308 242 136 48 
			 2008 Cambridgeshire 2,570 1,381 211 102 35 
			 2008 Cheshire 3,166 1,601 197 89 25 
			 2008 City of London 368 175 26 13 5 
			 2008 Cleveland 2,800 1,875 338 199 89 
			 2008 Cumbria 1,835 1,257 186 101 25 
			 2008 Derbyshire 3,156 1,703 226 109 23 
			 2008 Devon and Cornwall 5,395 3,000 413 171 50 
			 2008 Dorset 2,268 1,073 140 49 19 
			 2008 Durham 1,932 1,346 241 101 34 
			 2008 Dyfed-Powys 1,961 1,246 159 93 20 
			 2008 Essex 7,578 3,704 499 205 56 
			 2008 Gloucestershire 2,319 1,180 121 66 12 
			 2008 Greater Manchester 8,306 4,116 649 268 73 
			 2008 Gwent 2,813 1,790 294 150 49 
			 2008 Hampshire 5,368 2,740 402 181 74 
			 2008 Hertfordshire 3,643 2,169 298 124 42 
			 2008 Humberside 3,121 1,789 288 135 52 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 Kent 6,700 3,840 576 269 74 
			 2008 Lancashire 5,009 3,265 585 278 109 
			 2008 Leicestershire 2,685 1,397 190 91 27 
			 2008 Lincolnshire 2,462 1,302 172 93 30 
			 2008 Merseyside 3,635 2,181 366 162 49 
			 2008 Metropolitan Police 27,333 14,517 2,465 1,104 277 
			 2008 Norfolk 2,416 1,331 254 131 43 
			 2008 North Wales 2,635 1,457 220 98 30 
			 2008 North Yorkshire 2,163 1,135 153 78 30 
			 2008 Northamptonshire 2,213 1,258 226 116 32 
			 2008 Northumbria 7,871 4,464 656 373 139 
			 2008 Nottinghamshire 3,927 2,458 431 220 78 
			 2008 South Wales 3,528 1,946 349 164 40 
			 2008 South Yorkshire 5,154 2,789 419 158 32 
			 2008 Staffordshire 2,956 1,529 208 91 21 
			 2008 Suffolk 2,347 1,182 176 88 31 
			 2008 Surrey 2,446 1,262 170 91 40 
			 2008 Sussex 5,714 2,986 448 209 69 
			 2008 Thames Valley 7,737 4,265 599 296 70 
			 2008 Warwickshire 1,904 1,010 132 61 16 
			 2008 West Mercia 4,020 2,260 377 164 51 
			 2008 West Midlands 12,435 6,421 918 353 69 
			 2008 West Yorkshire 8,616 4,799 733 349 83 
			 2008 Wiltshire 1,899 890 145 55 13 
			        
			 2009 Avon and Somerset 4,248 2,368 364 152 42 
			 2009 Bedfordshire 1,774 775 104 47 8 
			 2009 British Transport Police 4,354 1,746 313 127 71 
			 2009 Cambridgeshire 2,600 1,354 181 64 25 
			 2009 Cheshire 2,504 1,220 144 47 10 
			 2009 City of London 376 130 23 14 1 
			 2009 Cleveland 2,729 1,500 238 128 40 
			 2009 Cumbria 1,847 971 118 36 8 
			 2009 Derbyshire 2,160 924 148 43 13 
			 2009 Devon and Cornwall 5,240 2,549 304 107 16 
			 2009 Dorset 2,043 791 75 20 7 
			 2009 Durham 1,712 1,101 189 96 21 
			 2009 Dyfed-Powys 2,026 1,069 118 53 6 
			 2009 Essex 7,814 3,243 375 145 29 
			 2009 Gloucestershire 2,270 887 99 41 6 
			 2009 Greater Manchester 6,841 2,885 342 135 26 
			 2009 Gwent 2,484 1,282 162 73 21 
			 2009 Hampshire 5,474 2,461 272 130 34 
			 2009 Hertfordshire 3,986 1,750 213 82 19 
			 2009 Humberside 2,830 1,358 210 99 23 
			 2009 Kent 7,093 3,175 403 191 30 
			 2009 Lancashire 4,912 2,571 352 168 41 
			 2009 Leicestershire 2,783 1,147 157 62 15 
			 2009 Lincolnshire 2,438 1,035 149 53 13 
			 2009 Merseyside 3,954 1,887 262 115 25 
			 2009 Metropolitan Police 27,847 12,150 1,619 618 103 
			 2009 Norfolk 2,028 1,014 128 49 13 
			 2009 North Wales 2,780 1,256 174 69 21 
			 2009 North Yorkshire 2,166 855 102 41 14 
			 2009 Northamptonshire 2,107 1,182 139 52 10 
			 2009 Northumbria 7,602 3,908 571 235 108 
			 2009 Nottinghamshire 4,226 2,290 345 151 27 
			 2009 South Wales 3,558 1,610 217 93 23 
			 2009 South Yorkshire 4,919 2,250 255 93 13 
			 2009 Staffordshire 2,301 1,010 138 41 11 
			 2009 Suffolk 2,353 989 134 44 20 
			 2009 Surrey 2,117 906 124 62 18 
			 2009 Sussex 5,629 2,361 298 124 22 
			 2009 Thames Valley 6,464 3,161 400 163 39 
		
	
	
		
			 2009 Warwickshire 1,647 776 77 31 4 
			 2009 West Mercia 3,556 1,663 252 95 17 
			 2009 West Midlands 9,902 4,366 567 169 25 
			 2009 West Yorkshire 8,138 3,603 436 151 40 
			 2009 Wiltshire 2,113 880 90 37 9 
			        
			 2010 Avon and Somerset 4,409 1,932 259 77 14 
			 2010 Bedfordshire 1,563 570 58 13 8 
			 2010 British Transport Police 4,240 1,461 214 95 20 
			 2010 Cambridgeshire 2,802 934 85 29 7 
			 2010 Cheshire 2,707 981 88 39 7 
			 2010 City of London 443 152 20 5 — 
			 2010 Cleveland 2,851 1,233 177 72 18 
			 2010 Cumbria 1,819 766 72 21 3 
			 2010 Derbyshire 2,099 806 84 24 4 
			 2010 Devon and Cornwall 4,933 2,035 161 66 4 
			 2010 Dorset 1,741 540 50 12 5 
			 2010 Durham 2,443 1,226 180 64 12 
			 2010 Dyfed-Powys 1,910 869 88 29 3 
			 2010 Essex 6,139 1,997 190 56 6 
			 2010 Gloucestershire 1,477 548 51 18 1 
			 2010 Greater Manchester 6,853 2,212 277 69 14 
			 2010 Gwent 2,230 1,022 125 39 12 
			 2010 Hampshire 5,417 1,807 168 71 17 
			 2010 Hertfordshire 3,876 1,462 168 62 8 
			 2010 Humberside 2,788 1,079 117 48 5 
			 2010 Kent 6,043 2,206 246 82 21 
			 2010 Lancashire 5,137 2,039 209 85 16 
			 2010 Leicestershire 2,727 951 127 31 8 
			 2010 Lincolnshire 2,157 766 77 30 10 
			 2010 Merseyside 3,782 1,498 163 47 7 
			 2010 Metropolitan Police 28,385 9,583 986 339 42 
			 2010 Norfolk 2,229 812 91 22 2 
			 2010 North Wales 2,179 829 94 29 7 
			 2010 North Yorkshire 1,887 602 68 20 5 
			 2010 Northamptonshire 1,987 796 89 32 3 
			 2010 Northumbria 6,199 2,559 288 127 30 
			 2010 Nottinghamshire 4,719 2,063 259 95 17 
			 2010 South Wales 3,026 1,140 91 36 4 
			 2010 South Yorkshire 4,047 1,370 122 32 6 
			 2010 Staffordshire 2,915 1,097 126 32 3 
			 2010 Suffolk 1,829 675 91 29 5 
			 2010 Surrey 2,042 714 72 28 7 
			 2010 Sussex 5,931 1,832 187 74 8 
			 2010 Thames Valley 5,848 2,317 263 89 16 
			 2010 Warwickshire 1,729 553 42 14 3 
			 2010 West Mercia 2,949 1,263 153 57 9 
			 2010 West Midlands 6,774 2,320 206 75 6 
			 2010 West Yorkshire 6,777 2,558 255 88 12 
			 2010 Wiltshire 1,904 648 37 28 2 
			        
			 2011 Avon and Somerset 4,939 1,468 131 30 4 
			 2011 Bedfordshire 1,558 417 32 6 — 
			 2011 British Transport Police 4,614 1,190 110 43 4 
			 2011 Cambridgeshire 2,098 542 40 10 3 
			 2011 Cheshire 2,711 645 45 11 1 
			 2011 City of London 420 106 3 — — 
			 2011 Cleveland 2,759 810 98 30 5 
			 2011 Cumbria 1,877 508 36 6 — 
			 2011 Derbyshire 2,307 624 49 4 — 
			 2011 Devon and Cornwall 5,332 1,353 104 15 2 
			 2011 Dorset 1,913 416 23 5 1 
			 2011 Durham 2,481 886 103 28 2 
			 2011 Dyfed-Powys 2,316 701 42 9 2 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 Essex 6,088 1,317 90 18 3 
			 2011 Gloucestershire 1,419 322 28 4 — 
			 2011 Greater Manchester 6,808 1,515 109 30 6 
			 2011 Gwent 2,603 738 74 20 3 
			 2011 Hampshire 5,015 1,134 90 30 3 
			 2011 Hertfordshire 3,943 1,105 98 16 — 
			 2011 Humberside 3,014 813 59 16 1 
			 2011 Kent 6,231 1,581 108 23 2 
			 2011 Lancashire 5,394 1,398 94 29 8 
			 2011 Leicestershire 2,618 680 53 7 — 
			 2011 Lincolnshire 2,222 536 40 8 3 
			 2011 Merseyside 3,885 1,169 82 28 1 
			 2011 Metropolitan Police 27,094 6,475 452 83 6 
			 2011 Norfolk 2,414 589 42 9 1 
			 2011 North Wales 2,010 477 42 17 1 
			 2011 North Yorkshire 2,002 410 32 9 1 
			 2011 Northamptonshire 2,109 613 45 12 1 
			 2011 Northumbria 6,372 1,665 146 31 15 
			 2011 Nottinghamshire 5,331 1,632 137 29 5 
			 2011 South Wales 3,084 781 54 14 2 
			 2011 South Yorkshire 3,529 869 55 13 — 
			 2011 Staffordshire 3,473 878 53 20 1 
			 2011 Suffolk 2,066 544 40 16 2 
			 2011 Surrey 1,949 460 39 13 3 
			 2011 Sussex 4,905 1,274 104 36 3 
			 2011 Thames Valley 6,030 1,761 146 34 1 
			 2011 Warwickshire 1,576 354 19 4 1 
			 2011 West Mercia 3,215 1,053 95 13 5 
			 2011 West Midlands 6,069 1,481 110 28 1 
			 2011 West Yorkshire 7,377 1,791 108 42 3 
			 2011 Wiltshire 1,669 436 25 2 1 
			        
			 2012 Avon and Somerset 2,935 376 12 6 1 
			 2012 Bedfordshire 703 105 3 — — 
			 2012 British Transport Police 2,376 306 13 2 — 
			 2012 Cambridgeshire 963 133 4 1 — 
			 2012 Cheshire 1,202 140 4 — — 
			 2012 City of London 256 40 2 — 1 
			 2012 Cleveland 1,467 228 12 1 — 
			 2012 Cumbria 916 116 1 — — 
			 2012 Derbyshire 1,075 118 2 1 — 
			 2012 Devon and Cornwall 2,664 311 7 — — 
			 2012 Dorset 936 82 2 1 1 
			 2012 Durham 1,252 180 12 2 1 
			 2012 Dyfed-Powys 1,454 173 7 2 — 
			 2012 Essex 2,712 261 8 2 — 
			 2012 Gloucestershire 710 84 4 1 — 
			 2012 Greater Manchester 3,361 352 9 2 — 
			 2012 Gwent 1,299 204 12 2 — 
			 2012 Hampshire 2,381 284 6 1 — 
			 2012 Hertfordshire 1,935 261 4 — — 
			 2012 Humberside 1,464 161 7 — — 
			 2012 Kent 2,699 315 15 3 — 
			 2012 Lancashire 3,122 347 18 1 — 
			 2012 Leicestershire 1,450 169 4 2 — 
			 2012 Lincolnshire 929 116 1 2 — 
			 2012 Merseyside 2,005 250 6 2 — 
			 2012 Metropolitan Police 12,958 1,606 54 3 — 
			 2012 Norfolk 1,343 154 6 2 — 
			 2012 North Wales 1,054 136 5 1 1 
			 2012 North Yorkshire 806 97 4 — — 
			 2012 Northamptonshire 1,006 150 4 2 — 
			 2012 Northumbria 3,335 418 11 5 — 
			 2012 Nottinghamshire 2,918 420 11 5 — 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 South Wales 1,864 167 2 2 — 
			 2012 South Yorkshire 1,559 172 2 — — 
			 2012 Staffordshire 1,690 227 3 1 — 
			 2012 Suffolk 1,022 127 3 — — 
			 2012 Surrey 861 97 3 — 1 
			 2012 Sussex 2,448 346 12 1 — 
			 2012 Thames Valley 3,141 413 14 5 — 
			 2012 Warwickshire 696 84 1 — — 
			 2012 West Mercia 1,666 228 10 1 — 
			 2012 West Midlands 2,783 321 8 — — 
			 2012 West Yorkshire 3,530 472 13 1 — 
			 2012 Wiltshire 820 120 3 — — 
			 Source: Ministry of Justice

Youth Offending Teams

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which youth offending team has had the largest reduction in its annual budget since 2011; and how much funding each youth offending team received in 2012.

Jeremy Wright: Youth offending teams (YOTs) are multi-agency partnerships funded primarily by the local authority and local statutory partners, including the police, probation, health authorities and—where relevant—the Welsh Assembly Government. The Ministry of Justice contributes funding through the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in the form of youth justice grants to YOTs.
	As at April 2011, the YJB distributed such grants to 158 YOTs. Individual contributions vary but on average the youth justice grant represents around a third of a YOT's funding. The following data have been provided by the YJB and relate to total YOT funding from all statutory partners rather than just the YJB element of it.
	Trafford YOT had the largest reduction in 2011-12 in funding from statutory partners and the YJB: funding reduced from £3.22 million in 2010-11 to £1.59 million in 2011-12, a decline of 50.4%.
	The following table shows details of funding received by each YOT in 2011-12, the latest year that data are available, broken down by YOT and financial year (as published in the 2011-12 Youth Justice Statistics
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/youth-justice/yjb-stats-2011-12.pdf
	in Table B.4) . These figures have been drawn from operational sources, which are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.
	YOT funding between financial years and areas is not directly comparable due to changes in the way funding has been allocated and termination of discrete funding streams over set periods of time. Due to boundary changes, the number of YOTs have fluctuated over the period in question which again makes close comparisons difficult.
	
		
			 Funding youth offending teams from statutory partners and the YJB, 2011-12 
			 Youth offending team Total funding 2010-11 (£) Total funding 2011-12 (£) Total funding 2011-12 (£) % Change 
			 Kent(1) 6,689,740 1,789,251 - 4,900,489 n/a 
			 Barnsley(1) 1,960,970 691,677 - 1,269,293 n/a 
			 Trafford 3,224,241 1,599,257 - 1,624,984 -50.4 
			 Reading 1,427,379 814,075 - 613,304 -43.0 
			 Greenwich 3,070,382 1,772,267 - 1,298,115 -42.3 
			 Harrow 1,657,468 965,010 - 692,458 -41.8 
			 Wiltshire 2,505,668 1,494,226 - 1,011,442 -40.4 
			 Thurrock 1,522,352 938,624 - 583,728 -38.3 
			 Newham 2,858,948 1,906,959 - 951,989 -33.3 
			 South Tees 3,026,931 2,086,043 - 940,888 -31.1 
			 Neath Port Talbot 1,771,311 1,241,817 - 529,494 -29.9 
			 Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly 2,385,318 1,717,746 - 667,572 -28.0 
			 St. Helens 1,752,288 1,304,370 - 447,918 -25.6 
			 Rotherham 2,138,434 1,612,543 - 525,891 -24.6 
			 Wessex(2) 9,359,257 7,135,696 - 2,223,561 -23.8 
			 Croydon 3,547,945 2,707,685 - 840,260 -23.7 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 1,350,269 1,040,397 - 309,872 -22.9 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 3,013,305 2,325,409 - 687,896 -22.8 
			 Dudley 2,591,505 2,003,265 - 588,240 -22.7 
			 Redbridge 2,055,365 1,595,241 - 460,124 -22.4 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,746,268 1,356,602 - 389,666 -22.3 
			 Cumbria 2,858,406 2,223,577 - 634,829 -22.2 
			 Cheshire 3,398,012 2,647,968 - 750,044 -22.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Brent 2,439,516 1,914,010 - 525,506 -21.5 
			 Tameside 1,728,462 1,369,103 - 359,359 -20.8 
			 Islington 1,996,502 1,582,367 - 414,135 -20.7 
			 North East Lincolnshire 922,504 731,151 - 191,353 -20.7 
			 Manchester 5,108,091 4,059,239 - 1,048,852 -20.5 
			 Cardiff 2,922,743 2,328,026 - 594,717 -20.3 
			 Peterborough 1,831,905 1,471,429 - 360,476 -19.7 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,713,974 1,383,300 - 330,674 -19.3 
			 Essex 5,499,319 4,449,390 - 1,049,929 -19.1 
			 Liverpool 6,026,884 4,904,912 - 1,121,972 -18.6 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2,894,562 2,356,185 - 538,377 -18.6 
			 Southwark 4,046,280 3,298,444 - 747,836 -18.5 
			 Kirklees 3,075,072 2,507,850 - 567,222 -18.4 
			 Worcestershire and Herefordshire 3,491,437 2,847,584 - 643,853 -18.4 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,290,187 1,883,240 - 406,947 -17.8 
			 Somerset 2,726,507 2,249,586 - 476,921 -17.5 
			 Bristol 3,283,821 2,710,210 - 573,611 -17.5 
			 Buckinghamshire 2,192,555 1,813,706 - 378,849 -17.3 
			 Slough 1,192,285 991,327 - 200,958 -16.9 
			 Cornwall 2,166,363 1,805,407 - 360,956 -16.7 
			 Flintshire 1,532,776 1,278,485 - 254,291 -16.6 
			 Lincolnshire 3,333,018 2,786,368 - 546,650 -16.4 
			 Derby 2,266,631 1,911,072 - 355,559 -15.7 
			 Norfolk 3,888,837 3,280,620 - 608,217 -15.6 
			 Hounslow 1,682,338 1,427,744 - 254,594 -15.1 
			 Knowsley 1,789,883 1,537,533 - 252,350 -14.1 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,589,920 1,366,719 - 223,201 -14.0 
			 South Tyneside 1,933,540 1,673,171 - 260,369 -13.5 
			 Gloucestershire 3,413,263 2,953,739 - 459,524 -13.5 
			 Sandwell 2,110,250 1,828,625 - 281,625 -13.3 
			 Doncaster 2,573,435 2,230,284 - 343,151 -13.3 
			 Luton 1,955,526 1,695,707 - 259,819 -13.3 
			 Gwynedd Mon 1,523,135 1,321,172 - 201,963 -13.3 
			 Hartlepool 1,355,674 1,178,921 - 176,753 -13.0 
			 Enfield 2,898,542 2,538,215 - 360,327 -12.4 
			 Ealing 1,864,217 1,633,125 - 231,092 -12.4 
			 Bradford 3,576,390 3,134,567 - 441,823 -12.4 
			 Bedfordshire 2,656,936 2,335,114 - 321,822 -12.1 
			 Lewisham 3,363,570 2,960,959 - 402,611 -12.0 
			 Northamptonshire 3,928,624 3,467,095 - 461,529 -11.7 
			 West Sussex 1,819,569 1,605,839 - 213,730 -11.7 
			 Gateshead 2,267,815 2,005,213 - 262,602 -11.6 
			 Birmingham 9,345,932 8,283,424 - 1,062,508 -11.4 
			 Leicestershire 2,837,736 2,515,657 - 322,079 -11.3 
			 East Sussex 2,391,373 2,125,910 - 265,463 -11.1 
			 Calderdale 1,844,241 1,640,845 - 203,396 -11.0 
			 Sefton 2,022,297 1,801,120 - 221,177 -10.9 
			 Powys 1,125,643 1,009,145 - 116,498 -10.3 
			 Solihull 1,269,124 1,138,745 - 130,379 -10.3 
			 Plymouth 1,590,571 1,427,286 - 163,285 -10.3 
			 Waltham Forest 1,855,870 1,667,076 - 188,794 -10.2 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 2,741,315 2,463,862 - 277,453 -10.1 
			 Lambeth 2,950,666 2,659,652 - 291,014 -9.9 
			 Monmouthshire and Torfaen 1,618,033 1,458,533 - 159,500 -9.9 
			 Durham 4,288,558 3,866,460 - 422,098 -9.8 
			 Shropshire Telford and Wrekin 2,534,888 2,288,445 - 246,443 -9.7 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 391,433 355,161 - 36,272 -9.3 
			 North Somerset 1,029,683 936,178 - 93,505 -9.1 
			 Leeds 7,076,323 6,442,778 - 633,545 -9.0 
			 Staffordshire 5,017,381 4,571,144 - 446,237 -8.9 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 2,595,640 2,365,464 - 230,176 -8.9 
			 Newport 1,475,529 1,348,475 - 127,054 -8.6 
			 Sheffield 3,606,374 3,299,055 - 307,319 -8.5 
			 Westminster 1,350,498 1,243,941 - 106,557 -7.9 
			 Oldham 1,754,575 1,619,135 - 135,440 -7.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Tower Hamlets and City of London 2,140,560 1,976,516 - 164,044 -7.7 
			 South Gloucestershire 1,013,823 936,335 - 77,488 -7.6 
			 Nottingham 3,591,476 3,317,781 - 273,695 -7.6 
			 Coventry 2,642,215 2,460,556 - 181,659 -6.9 
			 Wokingham 543,308 506,385 - 36,923 -6.8 
			 Northumberland 2,084,025 1,942,799 - 141,226 -6.8 
			 Southend-on-Sea 1,213,605 1,131,732 - 81,873 -6.7 
			 Havering 1,250,197 1,167,771 - 82,426 -6.6 
			 Swansea 2,376,040 2,229,063 - 146,977 -6.2 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 1,049,546 985,034 - 64,512 -6.1 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 856,574 803,949 - 52,625 -6.1 
			 Lancashire 5,940,873 5,638,207 - 302,666 -5.1 
			 Hertfordshire 4,389,475 4,172,734 - 216,741 -4.9 
			 North Yorkshire 3,485,701 3,317,367 - 168,334 -4.8 
			 Devon 3,312,329 3,154,836 - 157,493 -4.8 
			 Sunderland 3,781,917 3,610,655 - 171,262 -4.5 
			 Wirral 2,832,470 2,705,780 - 126,690 -4.5 
			 Halton and Warrington 1,745,427 1,672,150 - 73,277 -4.2 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 542,528 520,845 - 21,683 -4.0 
			 Wandsworth 2,268,339 2,180,918 - 87,421 -3.9 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1,443,837 1,391,292 - 52,545 -3.6 
			 Milton Keynes 1,687,547 1,643,328 - 44,219 -2.6 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,846,580 1,798,531 - 48,049 -2.6 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,095,843 1,068,394 - 27,449 -2.5 
			 Warwickshire 2,496,493 2,447,361 - 49,132 -2.0 
			 Swindon 1,010,570 991,723 - 18,847 -1.9 
			 Wakefield 1,985,070 1,954,940 - 30,130 -1.5 
			 Suffolk 3,591,686 3,543,424 - 48,262 -1.3 
			 Bromley 1,657,378 1,638,793 - 18,585 -1.1 
			 Wigan 2,219,831 2,196,205 - 23,626 -1.1 
			 Leicester City 3,042,298 3,013,196 - 29,102 -1.0 
			 Walsall 1,725,848 1,724,342 - 1,506 -0.1 
			 Darlington 1,016,263 1,016,009 - 254 0.0 
			 Medway 1,232,451 1,232,726 275 0.0 
			 Ceredigion 798,578 804,430 5,852 0.7 
			 Conwy and Denbighshire 1,299,708 1,309,842 10,134 0.8 
			 Surrey 3,585,012 3,644,876 59,864 1.7 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 1,197,805 1,230,131 32,326 2.7 
			 Bury 1,297,454 1,334,327 36,873 2.8 
			 Barnet 1,259,808 1,296,953 37,145 2.9 
			 Dorset 1,756,108 1,815,974 59,866 3.4 
			 Camden 2,514,014 2,610,722 96,708 3.8 
			 Wolverhampton 2,711,810 2,826,672 114,862 4.2 
			 Carmarthenshire 1,095,867 1,148,295 52,428 4.8 
			 Derbyshire 3,557,072 3,743,398 186,326 5.2 
			 North Tyneside 1,258,955 1,325,043 66,088 5.2 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,338,710 2,472,684 133,974 5.7 
			 Torbay 920,336 985,033 64,697 7.0 
			 West Berkshire 1,055,936 1,130,777 74,841 7.1 
			 York 1,034,696 1,129,983 95,287 9.2 
			 Pembrokeshire 882,801 965,617 82,816 9.4 
			 Salford 1,602,467 1,765,483 163,016 10.2 
			 Merton 1,051,945 1,164,500 112,555 10.7 
			 Hackney 2,931,476 3,255,089 323,613 11.0 
			 Hillingdon 2,101,013 2,364,649 263,636 12.5 
			 Blackpool 1,691,310 1,903,840 212,530 12.6 
			 Sutton 780,794 879,143 98,349 12.6 
			 Brighton and Hove 1,270,937 1,456,519 185,582 14.6 
			 Haringey 2,381,943 2,747,267 365,324 15.3 
			 Wrexham 1,167,646 1,348,398 180,752 15.5 
			 Bridgend 961,008 1,113,022 152,014 15.8 
			 Rochdale 2,052,720 2,381,461 328,741 16.0 
			 Oxfordshire 3,231,629 3,777,275 545,646 16.9 
			 Stockport 1,664,368 1,961,239 296,871 17.8 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,930,190 5,840,576 910,386 18.5 
		
	
	
		
			 Bolton 1,635,511 1,959,173 323,662 19.8 
			 Bracknell Forest 712,628 878,751 166,123 23.3 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 693,263 869,560 176,297 25.4 
			 Bexley 935,361 1,310,630 375,269 40.1 
			 Isle of Wight(2) — 690,783 690,783 n/a 
			      
			 Grand Total 372,971,307 329,837,741 -43,133,566 -11.6 
			 (1 )No data for 2011-12 for Kent and Barnsley. (2 )Wessex restructure—creation of Isle of Wight